apClATt/W 


STUAKT   HOLMES   STUDIED  THE   FACE. 


MEMBERS 


BY 

PANSY 

Author  of  "Chrissy's  Endeavor,"  "The  Hall  in  the  Grove,"  "Mrs. 
Solomon  Smith  Looking  On,"   "Little   Fishers:    and  Their 
Nets,"   "  Judge    Burnham's    Daughters,"  "  Eighty- 
Seven,"  "  Miss  Dee  Dunmore  Bryant,"  "An 
Endless  Chain,"  and  others. 


BOSTON 

D     LOTHROP     COMPANY 

WASHINGTON  STREET  OPPOSITE  BROMHIELD 


COPYRIGHT,  1891, 
BY 

D.  LOTHKOP  COMPANY. 


STACK 
ANNEX 

r  ^ 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 
SHE  IGNORES  THEM  .....  I 

CHAPTER   II. 

THEY  COMPEL  HER  ATTENTION  ...  15 

CHAPTER   III. 

THEY  INCREASE  IN  NUMBER         ....  28 

CHAPTER   IV. 

SHE  ORGANIZES  ......  41 

CHAPTER   V. 

THEY  APPALL  HER     ......  54 

CHAPTER  VI. 

SHE  HOLDS  A  MEETING  ,  66 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

SHE  ATTEMPTS  TO  SYMPATHIZE  .  .  .  78 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

SHE  IS  DISMAYED  AND  DISCOMFITED  .  .  90 

CHAPTER  IX. 

SHE  REACHES  AFTER  THEM     .  .      IO2 

CHAPTER  X. 

ONE  WALKS  AMONG  THORNS        .  .  .  .  115 

CHAPTER  XL 

SHE  IS  PERPLEXED  ON   EVERY  SIDE      .  .  .  128 

CHAPTER  XII. 
SHE  "ENDEAVORS"  IN  A  NEW  LINE  .         .         .         141 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

SHE  CALLS  LEMON  PIE  TO  HER  AID      .  .  .  153 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

SHE  AMAZES  ONE  OF  THEM  ....  l66 

CHAPTER  XV. 

SHE  LAYS  SNARES  FOR  ONE          .  .  .  .  178 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

THEY  SEARCH  FOR  "  REAL  THINGS  "  .  .  .  IQO 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

SHE  FINDS  AN  "ACTIVE  MEMBER  "       .  .  .  2O2 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

SHE  DISCOVERS  A  "  LOOKOUT  COMMITTEE"         .         215 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

SHE  ILLUSTRATES  THEOLOGY       ....  227 

CHAPTER   XX. 

SHE  RECEIVES,  TO  ACTIVE  MEMBERSHIP        .  .  240 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

SHE  TURNS  SURGEON  .  .  .  .  .  253 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

ONE  DISCOVERS  HIS  OPPORTUNITY       .  .  .  266 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

ONE  OF  THEM  IS   AFRAID  ....  278 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

ONE  ASKS  EMBARRASSING  QUESTIONS  ,  .  21 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

ONE,  LOSES  HIS  IDENTITY  .  .  .  .  304 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

ONE  "  RE-ENLISTS "  .  .  .  .  .  316 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THEY  ARE  LED  BY  UNSEEN  PATHS   .      .     .     328 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

ONE  OF  THEM  GOES  HOME     ....     343 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

SHE  LOSES  THEM EVERY  ONE  .  .  .  358 


HER  ASSOCIATE   MEMBERS, 


CHAPTER   I. 

SHE    IGNORES    THEM. 

AT  this  present  time  she  signs  her  name 
"Christine  Hollister  Holmes,"  and  her 
visiting  cards  read  "  Mrs.  Stuart  Holmes."  I 
tell  you  this  in  order  that  people  who  were 
acquainted  with  Chrissy  Hollister  may  have  no 
doubt  as  to  her  identity.  She  was  sitting  before 
an  open  window,  although  in  many  latitudes  it  was 
the  season  of  the  year  when  windows  are  kept 
tightly  closed,  and  coal  or  steam  holds  sway. 
There  was  a  suspicion  of  fire  in  the  open  grate, 
but  the  air  was  odorous  with  burning  pine, 
instead  of  anthracite,  and  the  breath  which  came 
in  at  the  open  windows  was  fragrant  with  roses 
instead  of  being  touched  with  frost. 


2  HER   ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

The  face  which  looked  out  into  the  street 
below  was  fair,  and,  on  the  whole,  sweet,  though 
the  brow  was  somewhat  clouded,  and  there  was  a 
look  in  the  eyes  which  told  the  close  observer 
something  about  a  disappointment  bravely  borne, 
which  nevertheless  shadowed  her  face  at  times. 

Stuart  Holmes,  lying  on  a  couch  outside  of  the 
line  of  the  breeze,  yet  in  a  position  to  command  a 
side  view  of  the  face,  studied  it  for  a  moment, 
then  closed  his  eyes  and  drew  the  faintest  possi 
ble  sigh.  He  had  a  gay  afghan  thrown  over  him, 
and  drooped  his  head  among  the  pillows  in  a  way 
which  suggested  debility. 

Mrs.  Holmes  had  turned  but  a  moment  before 
from  a  small  writing-table,  whereon  lay  at  this 
moment  a  bulky  package  sealed  and  addressed  to 
"Mrs.  Chess  Gardner."  Had  you  been  looking 
over  her  shoulder  while  she  wrote,  you  would 
have  understood  the  situation  better ;  perhaps  the 
easiest  way  is  to  give  you  a  chance  to  hear  some 
thing  of  what  she  wrote  to  her  old-time  friend. 

"We  are  settled  at  last  for  the  winter,"  so  the 
letter  ran.  "We  spent  only  a  month  at  the  first 
stopping  place  ;  the  air  proved  to  be  too  bracing 
for  Stuart,  and  the  boarding  accommodations  were 
not  pleasant.  I  was  almost  glad  when  it  did  not 
suit  Stuart,  for  a  more  uninviting  place,  I  think,  I 
was  never  in.  There  were  people  enough,  young 
people,  too,  and  I  tried  to  get  interested  in  them  ; 


SHE    IGNORES    THEM.  3 

rather,  I  expected  to  be  interested,  as  a  matter  of 
course.  They  had  some  sort  of  an  organization  ; 
the  'Young  People's  Club/  I  think  they  called  it. 
Such  a  dreadful  name  for  a  society,  I  think.  But 
I  tried  to  harmonize  with  it.  I  had  not  been 
there  two  days  before  I  sought  out  the  president 
and  secretary,  and  made  an  effort  to  lend  a  help 
ing  hand.  They  needed  help  badly  enough,  but 
were  in  that  most  deplorable  of  all  states,  satis 
fied  with  themselves.  I  found  that  all  in  the 
world  they  were  doing  with  their  organization  was 
having  what  they  were  pleased  to  call  'a  good 
time.'  Of  course,  there  were  many  who  were  not 
being  reached.  In  fact,  no  one  had  an  idea  of 
trying  to  reach  anybody  for  the  sake  of  help 
ing  him  in  any  way.  I  talked  volumes,  Stuart 
said,  with  the  officers,  trying  to  show  them  a 
better  way.  It  was  very  depressing  work ;  they 
had  not  the  least  desire  to  be  shown.  But  this 
I  did  not  understand  at  first ;  it  seemed  incredible 
to  me  that  young  people  in  health,  and  with 
average  intelligence,  would  not  rather  do  some 
thing  than  nothing,  even  though  their  standard 
was  not  very  high.  The  place  was  small,  with  no 
advantages ;  at  least,  with  no  reading-room,  and  a 
circulating  library  which,  owing  to  the  miserable 
selections  that  had  been  made,  they  would  have 
been  infinitely  better  off  without.  No  place  for 
evening  gatherings,  except  the  railroad  station 


4  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

and  the  saloons.  The  young  men  who  had  no 
homes,  as  well  as  some  who  had,  seemed  to  have 
a  good  excuse  for  lounging  in  the  aforesaid 
objectionable  places.  I  talked  reading-room  earn 
estly.  They  said  they  had  no  funds  with  which 
to  buy  books  or  papers.  I  suggested  beginning 
on  a  very  small  scale ;  offered  to  secure  a  package 
of  books  for  them,  and  proposed  that  each  mem 
ber  of  the  organization  should  be  asked  to  bring 
from  home  the  family  newspaper,  after  it  had 
been  read.  Stuart  said  that  was  hazardous 
advice,  because  of  the  selection  which  some  would 
have  made,  and  that,  perhaps,  I  should  be  thank 
ful  that  my  advice  was  not  followed.  But  I 
can  hardly  imagine  any  worse  reading  in  the 
daily  or  weekly  average  newspapers  than  the  ten- 
cent  paper-covered  novels  they  had  chosen.  Well, 
no  matter ;  they  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  The 
next  objection  was  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
secure  a  place  of  meeting ;  there  was  no  suitable 
room  in  the  village,  and,  if  there  were,  no  money 
to  secure  it.  But  you  know  my  propensity  for 
not  giving  up  a  thing.  I  pushed  hard  ;  canvassed 
the  town ;  found  an  unused  store  which,  with 
scrubbing  and  a  few  dollars  spent  on  cheap 
curtains  and  lamps,  with  a  chair  donated  from 
each  home,  would  have  done  very  well.  The 
rent  was  absurdly  low,  and  I  was  jubilant  over 
my  discovery.  Thirty  dollars  would  have  covered 


SHE    IGNORES    THEM.  5 

the  necessary  expenses  for  getting  that  room 
ready  for  use,  and  paying  the  rent  for  six  months ! 
I  went  to  that  inane  club  at  their  next  regular 
meeting  and  reported,  only  to  be  assured  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  raise  the  thirty  dollars.  I 
did  not  believe  it,  for,  though  by  no  means 
wealthy,  it  was  not  a  poverty-stricken  town,  and 
I  felt  sure  that  those  young  people  spent  on 
nothings,  each  six  months  of  their  lives,  more 
than  enough  to  cover  the  sum.  However,  they 
were  beyond  convincing.  Still,  I  could  not  give 
up  the  idea.  The  more  I  saw  of  the  young  men 
lounging  about  on  disreputable  corners,  the  more 
important  it  seemed.  Stuart  and  I  talked  it  all 
over.  He  is  a  young  man,  you  know,  and  an 
entire  year  away  from  business,  with  a  long  illness, 
followed  by  a  winter's  banishment  from  home, 
traveling  and  living  as  an  invalid,  are  not  calcula 
ted  to  increase  one's  resources ;  still,  of  course, 
we  had  our  "  sacred  fund,"  and  the  only  question 
was  to  use  it  in  the  wisest  way ;  because  it  was 
smaller  than  usual,  we  wanted  to  be  even  more 
careful  in  its  expenditure.  At  last  we  resolved  to 
appropriate  fifty  dollars  to  the  starting  of  an 
enterprise  of  the  kind  we  proposed.  We  made 
the  amount  fifty  because  certain  things  seemed 
necessary  if  one  was  going  to  do  it  alone,  which, 
working  together  with  a  committee,  all  bent  on 
saving,  and  doing  as  much  as  possible  with  a 


6  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

little,  we  should  have  voted  to  get  along  without. 
Stuart  was  not  so  well  that  week,  and  I  could 
only  talk  with  him  at  intervals,  and  would  not  let 
him  shoulder  a.  bit  of  risk,  of  course ;  so  I  went 
out  myself,  afternoons  when  he  was  taking  his 
rest,  rented  the  building,  hired  a  woman  to  clean 
and  a  man  to  repair,  and,  to  make  my  long  story 
brief,  spent  five  days  of  planning  and  working 
with  hired  helpers,  putting  it  in  perfect  order.  It 
was  very  plain,  but  exceedingly  neat-looking  when 
everything  was  done,  and  I  had  great  joy  in  it. 
I  do  not  believe  our  lovely  rooms  on  the  avenue 
gave  me  any  greater  thrills  of  delight  than  did 
this,  which  you  would  have  been  restrained  only 
by  politeness  from  calling  a  barn.  I  do  not  know 
what  the  dear  club  thought  I  was  about,  I  am 
sure ;  they  never  came  to  see,  and  showed  no 
interest  in  the  matter.  I  flattered  myself  for  a 
time  that  I  was  keeping  my  work  a  profound 
secret,  until  Stuart  laughed  at  me  and  told  me 
one  would  suppose  I  had  never  spent  a  season  in 
a  small  village  where  everybody  knew  his  neigh 
bor's  affairs. 

"When  everything  was  ready,  I  wrote  a  little 
note  to  the  president,  tendering  the  club  the  use 
of  the  room  for  the  next  six  months,  free  of 
expense,  only  stipulating  that  they  should  have 
it  lighted  on  certain  evenings  of  each  week,  if 
they  could  not  arrange  for  every  evening,  and 


SHE    IGNORES    THEM.  7 

have  a  committee  in  attendance  to  entertain  any 
that  should  come;  just  as  we  do  at  our  rooms, 
you  know.  Nellie,  I  hope  you  are  prepared  for 
the  result,  but  certainly  I  was  not.  Do  you 
believe  that  they  declined  the  offer,  on  the  plea 
that  they  could  not  find  a  suitable  entertainment 
committee,  and  that  the  work  of  caring  for  such 
a  room,  lighting  and  keeping  it  in  order  was  too 
much  for  them  !  I  was  never  so  disappointed  in 
my  life.  Oh,  I  was  more  than  disappointed ;  the 
thing  just  overpowered  me.  For  days  I  could  not 
rise  above  the  humility  and  bitterness  of  my 
defeat.  You  know  I  am  not  used  to  failing. 

"  Stuart  tried  his  best  to  comfort  me,  and, 
because  he  was  so  miserable  and  must  not  be 
troubled,  I  pretended  to  be  comforted  often  when 
my  heart  was  in  a  perfect  turmoil.  I  would  not 
like  to  tell  you  how  many  times  I  cried  about  it 
all.  Aside  from  the  pain  of  failing  utterly  in  an 
undertaking  upon  which  I  had  spent  so  much 
time  and  money,  there  was  a  sense  of  being  mis 
understood,  and  of  affording  amusement  to  a 
certain  class  of  people  who  had  apparently 
delighted  in  misunderstanding  me.  I  came  to 
have  a  feeling  almost  like  humiliation  when  I 
would  meet  one  of  the  club.  They  looked  at  me 
with  such  queer,  almost  triumphant  smiles,  and 
giggled  after  I  had  passed  them.  I  came  to 
understand  that  they  looked  upon  me  as  a  sort  of 


8  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

crank,  who  was  bent  upon  taking  leadership,  and 
had  been  successfully  put  down.  Oh,  I  will  not 
try  to  describe  to  you  how  I  felt.  The  experience 
has  been  too  recent.  Stuart  was  as  good  as  gold ; 
he  never  once  said,  or  even  looked,  'I  told  you 
so,'  although  I  could  see  afterward  that  he  had 
offered  several  sympathetic  hints  to  the  effect 
that  I  must  not  expect  too  much  of  the  club  ;  but 
I  did  not  understand ;  I  thought  I  was  expecting 
very  little  of  them.  I  honestly  thought  that  they 
held  back  because  they  did  not  know  how  much 
could  be  done  with  a  little  money,  and  had  a 
horror  of  involving  themselves  in  financial  obliga 
tions  which  they  could  not  meet.  When  Stuart 
saw  how  utterly  humiliated  I  was,  he  wanted  me 
to  agree  to  his  trying  to  open  the  room  himself  ; 
sitting  there  for  an  hour  or  two  in  the  evening  to 
receive  such  young  men  as  curiosity  might  induce 
to  drop  in.  Would  it  not  have  been  a  grand 
thing  if  he  could  have  done  so?  Think  what  a 
chance  for  those  tobacco-smoking,  swearing  young 
men  to  have  come  in  contact  with  a  man  like  him 
for  even  a  few  times  in  their  lives!  But  of 
course  I  could  not  consent  to  any  such  a  plan  as 
that  after  Dr.  Douglass'  warning  that  I  must  not 
let  my  husband  even  think  what  his  name  was  for 
at  least  three  months.  Part  of  my  anxiety  was 
that  I  had  talked  so  much  with  Stuart  about  it 
as  to  retard  his  recovery ;  but  he  was  fully  as 


SHE    IGNORES    THEM.  9 

anxious  as  I  was  to  have  something  done.  Well, 
the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  was,  that  he 
had  a  sharp  illness  of  several  days'  duration  which, 
for  the  time  being,  put  that  ill-fated  room,  with 
its  new  whitewash  and  fresh  lamps,  entirely  out 
of  my  mind.  After  that  came  the  doctor's  orders 
to  'move  on.'  So  one  morning,  after  I  had 
packed  our  trunks,  and  Stuart  was  resting,  with 
the  doctor's  son  on  guard  to  see  that  he  was  not 
disturbed,  I  went  down  to  the  room,  packed  away 
the  pretty  vases  and  mats  and  engravings  with 
which  I  had  tried  to  brighten  the  place,  took 
down,  shook  and  folded  away  the  pretty  imitation 
Madras  curtains,  and,  leaving  every  thing  in  start 
ling  order,  locked  the  door,  carried  the  key  to 
the  owner,  paid  him  the  rent  promised,  took  his 
receipt  for  the  same,  and  his  honestly  expressed 
conviction  that  the  young  folks  in  that  place  were 
a  'dumb  lot  that  did  not  know  on  which  side  their 
bread  was  buttered,  and  never  would,'  and  went 
home  a  wiser  and  a  sadder  woman.  Not  without 
passing  a  couple  of  girls  walking  the  street  with  a 
couple  of  persons  whom  they  spoke  of  as  'fel 
lows,'  who  all  indulged  in  prolonged  giggles,  I 
suppose,  over  the  recognized  bundles  in  my  hands. 
So  much  for  my  venture  on  the  sea  of  benevo 
lence  alone  in  a  foreign  land. 

"We  left  by  the  afternoon  train;  came  to  this 
place,  which  is  called  a  city,  but  which  seems  a 


1C  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

mere  hamlet  when  one  thinks  of  home ;  and  tried 
to  settle  down  and  wait.  That  is  what  I  have  at 
last  resolved  to  do.  Stuart  is  really  better.  My 
heart  is  jubilant  over  that,  and  it  is  certainly  joy 
enough  in  itself  to  sustain  me  through  the  winter. 
I  shall  give  my  undivided  attention  to  him,  and 
help  him  gain  faster  than  man  ever  did  before. 
And  while  he  sleeps,  and  drinks  in  health  with 
every  breath  of  this  balmy  air,  I  shall  fold  my 
hands.  I  do  not  mean  to  get  interested  in  a 
human  being ;  I  do  not  mean  to  ask  their  names, 
or  where  they  go  to  church,  or  to  think  whether 
they  so  much  as  have  higher  natures  which  are 
being  stifled.  I  shall  call  it  a  lost  winter,  so  far 
as  outside  life  is  concerned,  and  wait  until  I  get 
back  to  our  dear  rooms,  and  our  grand  girls,  and 
noble,  self-sacrificing  men,  before  I  take  any  more 
flights  in  the  land  of  'Endeavor.'  There  are 
some  places  evidently  where  all  one  can  do  is  to 
endeavor  to  possess  his  soul  in  patience,  until  the 
time  comes  for  work  again.  I  have  been  slow 
to  learn  the  lesson,  but  I  think  it  is  effectually 
learned.  At  least,  if  you  hear  of  me  as  interest 
ing  myself,  during  this  entire  winter,  in  any 
thing  beyond  broths  and  gruels,  and  fresh  fruits 
and  easy  carriages,  and  pillows  and  tonics,  and 
the  quickest  way  of  restoring  wasted  physical 
strength,  set  me  down  as  a  lunatic  at  once.  If 
I  am  tempted  to  think  of  any  other  'endeavor/ 


SHE    IGNORES    THEM.  I  I 

the  memory  of  those  girls  in  that  never-to-be- 
forgotten  club  will  at  once  restrain  me.  Think 
of  my  fifty  dollars  wasted !  How  many  things 
you  blessed  home  workers  might  have  accom 
plished  with  even  that  small  sum ;  and  there  it  is 
locked  up  in  a  vacant  room  into  which  the  sun 
light  streams  all  day  long,  helping  to  create  dust 
and  cobwebs.  Never  mind,  Nellie,  my  husband 
is  stronger  to-day  than  he  was  yesterday,  and  he 
was  stronger  yesterday  than  the  day  before,  and 
May  is  only  five  months  away.  I  shall  write 
you  long  letters,  all  about  my  success  as  a  nurse, 
and  about  how  I  live  in  the  blessed  past  and 
hope-lined  future,  and  ignore  the  present,  outside 
of  this  boarding-house,  which  is  worthy  of  being 
ignored,  but  we  cannot  quite  compass  it.  We 
have  been  obliged  to  come  to  a  sort  of  second- 
rate  place,  in  order  to  insure  the  quiet  so  neces 
sary  for  Stuart.  Desirable  houses  are  crowded, 
but  we  do  passably  well  here ;  they  allow  me  to 
go  into  the  kitchen  to  prepare  the  beef  broth 
and  toast  the  bread,  so  Stuart's  diet  will  be 
watched  with  jealous  eyes,  and  consume  much 
of  my  time  and  strength.  I  did  not  mean  to 
write  you  this  story,  I  meant  not  to  tell  a  living 
soul  of  my  ignominious  failure,  but  that  vacant 
room  stared  at  me  so  continuously  that  I  could 
not  help  it.  I  think  I  shall  take  up  my  neglected 
German  again,  to  amuse  myself  during  the  inter- 


12  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

vals  of  nursing  and  cooking.  One  must  do  some 
thing  while  one's  charge  sleeps.  Long  naps, 
morning  and  afternoon,  are  specialties  in  Stuart's 
case." 

This  letter,  which  had  really  not  been  written 
at  one  sitting,  but  had  consumed  the  leisure  of 
several  afternoons,  having  been  sealed  and  laid 
aside,  Mrs.  Holmes  gave  her  eyes  to  the  street 
outside  and  her  thoughts  to  that  past  which  every 
day  seemed  more  dear  to  her  in  contrast  with 
the  present.  Moreover  —  though  she  had  not 
put  it  into  words  —  her  heart  was  sometimes  busy 
with  that  weary  question,  "Why?"  with  which 
we  often  wear  out  our  hearts.  Why,  for  instance, 
should  a  man  so  thoroughly  consecrated  as 
her  husband,  whose  schemes  for  bettering  the 
world  were  numerous  and  successful,  be  suddenly 
stricken  down  in  his  prime,  and  brought  to  the 
very  verge  of  the  grave  ?  So  low,  indeed,  that 
after  the  immediate  danger  was  past,  the  creep 
ing  back  to  health  and  strength  was  so  slow  that 
for  days  together  no  improvement  could  be  dis 
covered,  and  numerous  drawbacks  made  havoc 
with  the  little  gain  which  the  weeks  developed. 
Why  should  all  this  have  come  to  him,  making 
it  necessary  for  both  of  them  to  leave  the  work 
to  which  they  had  consecrated  their  leisure  hours, 
and  all  possible  increase  over  and  above  their 
daily  living,  and  go  far  away  among  strangers  net 


SHE    IGNORES    THEM.  13 

only,  but  uncongenial  ones?  Among  people, 
apparently,  who  had  nothing  in  common  with 
their  way  of  thinking  or  doing. 

"It  is  just  a  lost  winter,"  was  the  sad  mental 
conclusion  to  which  Mrs.  Chrissy  was  wont  to 
come,  when  she  went  over  again  the  story  of  her 
recent  past:  "Stuart  needed  the  rest,  I  suppose, 
and  the  dear  Lord  knew  him  well  enough  to  know 
that  he  could  not  get  it  in  any  other  way,  and  I 
am  necessary  to  the  entire  rest  which  his  body 
and  brain  need.  Well,  for  that  last  I  can  never 
cease  to  be  thankful;  I  must  just  be  content  to 
take  my  rest,  which  certainly  neither  my  body 
nor  mind  needed,  in  order  that  he  may  the  more 
surely  have  his.  I  will  count  it  my  lost  winter, 
and  fold  my  hands  over  it  as  smoothly  as  I  can 
and  wait." 

But  her  face,  as  I  said,  was  clouded.  She  was 
not  rebellious,  but  sad ;  the  days  were  really  very 
long.  Glad,  she  was,  thankful  from  her  inmost 
soul  for  her  husband's  manifest  improvement;  she 
sang  a  thanksgiving  hymn  in  her  heart  many 
times  each  day  over  it;  nevertheless,  there  were 
hours  in  the  long  day,  while  her  husband  slept,  or 
while  he  lay  in  a  state  half-dreaming,  half-waking, 
drinking  in  health  with  every  breath,  but  much 
better  entirely  undisturbed  even  by  the  voice  of 
his  wife,  when  the  time  hung  heavily  upon  the 
young  wife's  hands.  It  seemed  strange,  indeed, 


14  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

to  her  who  had  lived  so  active  a  life,  giving  all  her 
time,  of  late  years,  to  the  service  of  others,  to  be 
laid  aside ;  yet  that  she  was  laid  aside  from  active 
work  as  certainly  as  her  husband,  was  her  deliber 
ate  conclusion. 

"  I  am  fitted  to  work  only  in  certain  lines,"  she 
told  herself.  "The  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
which  took  such  strong  hold  of  me,  I  can  work 
through ;  but  remove  me  from  that  place,  and  I 
am  useless.  I  only  make  blunders  which  are 
injurious  to  the  cause.  That  giggling  club  will 
giggle  on  and  be  more  silly  all  their  lives,  I  sup 
pose,  because  of  my  failure  among  them.  I  have 
really  done  them  an  injury,  when  I  had  a  single 
desire  to  help ;  and  I  have  spent  a  large  part  of 
my  treasured  'tenth'  for  worse  than  nothing! 
To  think  that  I  imagined  I  could  transform  that 
club  into  a  full-fledged  Christian  Endeavor  soci 
ety!  They  could  not  even  'endeavor,'  to  say 
nothing  of  the  word  'Christian'  ;  and  I  could  not 
move  them  in  any  direction  save  that  of  ridicule. 
Well,  wisdom  is  dearly  learned  sometimes.  I  will 
profit  by  my  experience.  I  will  carefully  avoid 
the  young  people  in  this  vicinity  ;  and,  judging 
from  the  specimens  I  have  seen,  it  will  not  be  a 
trial  for  me  to  do  so." 


CHAPTER  II. 

THEY  COMPEL  HER  ATTENTION. 

WHILE  the  letter-writer  sat  gazing  into 
space  with  that  half-sad,  half-retrospect 
ive  look  upon  her  face  which  at  times  troubled 
her  husband,  he  broke  the  silence.  "  Chrissy, 
dear,  why  do  you  not  take  a  walk?  This  sweet 
air  must  be  more  enjoyable  outside  than  in  this 
room." 

She  turned  toward  him  quickly  with  the  smile 
that  was  always  ready  for  his  eyes.  "I  thought 
you  were  sleeping,"  she  said,  "and  would  not 
move  to  disturb  you.  I  think  I  will  take  a  walk, 
if  you  are  entirely  comfortable.  I  want  to  see 
our  laundress,  and  I  am  going  to  try  to  find  some 
juicier  oranges  for  you." 

Bonnet,  gloves  and  small  shoulder-cape,  the 
only  wrap  that  the  balmy  air  required,  were  soon 
in  order,  and  Chrissy  bent  before  the  couch  for 
good-by. 

"  I  am  going  first  to  the  kitchen   to   see   that 

'5 


l6  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

your  beef-tea  is  conducting  itself  in  a  proper  man 
ner,  and  to  see  if  Happy  can  be  installed  near  the 
door  to  answer  to  your  call." 

"I  do  not  require  the  outside  help,  I  think,"  he 
said,  smiling;  "I  am  in  need  of  nothing,  and 
have  a  fund  of  happiness  in  my  own  heart  to  draw 
upon  till  you  come  back." 

The  smile  his  wife  gave  him  in  response  had  a 
wistful  touch  in  it.  Her  husband,  lying  on  his 
couch  utterly  laid  aside,  was  so  much  more  will 
ing  to  wait  than  she  found  it  in  her  restless  heart 
to  do.  She  thought  it  over  as  she  made  her  way 
with  careful  steps  through  the  long,  wide,  not 
overclean  passage  that  led  from  the  front  part  of 
the  house  to  the  kitchen.  At  the  door,  which 
was  ajar,  she  paused  to  listen,  not  to  the  noise, 
but  to  the  unwonted  stillness.  Mrs.  Stetson's 
kitchen  was  by  no  means  generally  a  quiet  place ; 
the  clatter  of  pans  and  kettles  mingled  with  the 
discord  of  sharp  words  at  all  hours  of  the  day. 
A  most  uncomfortable  woman  was  Mrs.  Stetson, 
"out  of  her  sphere  if  ever  a  woman  was,"  Mrs. 
Holmes  wrote  in  her  home  letters,  and  added : 
"The  saddest  part  of  it  is,  one  can  only  wonder, 
in  looking  at  her,  what  her  sphere  could  possibly 
have  been  !  I  cannot  think  of  a  spot  in  the  world 
where  she  would  really  fit." 

Such  being  the  situation,  not  to  hear  either 
dishes  or  voice  was  ominous  of  something  strange. 


THEY  COMPEL  HER  ATTENTION.       I? 

Chrissy,  waiting  for  she  hardly  knew  what,  softly 
pushed  the  door  open  and  looked  in.  About  the 
stove  even  more  than  the  usual  disorder  prevailed. 
The  debris  of  the  long-past  dinner  was  so  great 
that  the  young  woman  reflected  with  satisfaction 
over  the  tightly  closed  jar  in  which  her  husband's 
beef  tea  was  simmering.  Beside  the  window, 
which  commanded  a  view  of  the  street,  sat  Mrs. 
Stetson,  doing  absolutely  nothing,  save  that  with 
one  corner  of  her  soiled  kitchen  apron  she 
brushed  away  two  or  three  great  tears,  which 
struggled  down  her  sallow,  much  wrinkled  face. 
Mrs.  Stetson  actually  crying!  The  sight  appalled 
her  boarder.  To  have  seen  her  frowning,  scold 
ing,  tossing  pans  and  brooms  or  sticks  of  wood 
right  and  left  in  a  frenzy  of  haste  and  angry 
bewilderment  would  have  been  a  common  sight ; 
but  this  was  a  new  development.  Chrissy  stood 
irresolute.  Should  she  retire  ?  But  the  beef 
tea,  perhaps,  needed  more  water  in  the  kettle ; 
and  then  where  was  Happy,  whose  services  she 
needed  ?  She  finally  retired  a  few  steps,  and 
made  much  noise  opening  and  closing  a  door,  that 
needed  no  attention ;  having  thus  heralded  her 
coming,  she  advanced  briskly.  The  ruse  took 
effect.  Mrs.  Stetson  turned  hastily  from  the  win 
dow,  and  began  to  clatter  the  dishes  ;  but  there 
were  traces  of  tears  upon  her  cheeks,  and  Chrissy 
could  not  forget  them.  She  lingered  even  after 


1 8  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

her  errand  was  done,  albeit  her  landlady  was  in  a 
most  unpropitious  mood. 

"I  am  sure  I  do  not  know  where  Happy  is," 
she  said,  sharply ;  "  stuck  away  in  some  corner 
reading  a  worthless  book,  I  suppose ;  that's 
where  she  generally  is  when  she  isn't  doing 
worse.  If  there  was  ever  a  more  worthless  girl 
than  Happy  born  into  this  world,  I'm  glad  it  was 
not  my  lot  to  see  her.  Yes,  she  can  sit  by  the 
door  as  well  as  not ;  it's  all  she's  good  for,  and  I 
do  suppose  she  would  know  enough  to  answer  if 
your  husband  called;  and  it's  about  all  she  does 
know." 

"But  I'm  afraid  you  need  her  here,"  said 
Chrissy ;  "you  have  so  much  to  do." 

"That's  a  good  reason  for  not  needing  her. 
She  isn't  worth  the  salt  she  eats  on  her  potatoes. 
When  it  comes  to  such  work  as  this,  I'd  rather 
have  her  out  of  the  kitchen  than  in  it.  No,  Mis' 
Holmes,  I'd  rather  have  the  money  you  pay  for 
her  setting  by  your  door  doing  nothing,  than  to 
see  her  slouching  around  making  believe  help. 
Sally  will  be  back  directly  and  take  hold  here." 

"  It  is  hard  work  to  take  care  of  so  many 
people,  is  it  not?"  said  Chrissy,  still  lingering. 
Some  way  the  memory  of  those  sorrowful-looking 
tears  held  her;  she  could  not  be  willing  to  go 
away  without  attempting  a  word  of  comfort  or 
at  least  of  sympathy. 


THEY  COMPEL  HER  ATTENTION.        19 

"It  ain't  that  altogether,"  said  Mrs.  Stetson, 
evasively,  and  in  a  voice  that  told  that  the  tears 
were  still  suspiciously  near  the  surface.  "There's 
worse  troubles  than  that  in  the  world,  Mis' 
Holmes,  and  I  have  mine  to  bear.  I'm  sick  of 
living." 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Chrissy,  briskly;  "it's  a  nice, 
pleasant  world  ;  only  see  how  blue  the  sky  is,  and 
the  air  smells  of  roses  and  yellow  jessamine,  and 
I  don't  know  what  other  sweet  things.  Why,  in 
my  home  a  terrible  north  east  storm  has  been 
raging  for  days  together !  My  brother  says  he 
has  almost  forgotten  how  sunshine  looks." 

"Humph!"  said  Mrs.  Stetson,  with  an  unmis 
takable  sniff;  "sunshine  and  roses  is  all  very 
nice  in  their  way,  but  it  takes  more  than  them 
to  make  a  world,  Mis'  Holmes." 

Chrissy  laughed  merrily.  She  was  bent  on 
cheering  this  woman. 

"That  is  true,"  she  said;  "it  takes  soups  and 
bread  and  potatoes,  and  ever  so  many  other 
things,  and  a  great  deal  of  hard  work,  does  it  not  ? 
That  sweet-potato  pie  was  very  nice  to-day,  Mrs. 
Stetson." 

"I'm  sure  I'm  glad  of  it,"  said  Mrs.  Stetson, 
looking  not  one  whit  less  gloomy.  "  Liph  thought 
so  too,  I  guess ;  he  eat  a  whole  one ;  Liph  can 
show  his  appreciation  that  way  as  well  as  the 
next  one.  When  you  get  to  be  an  old  woman 


2O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

like  me,  Mis'  Holmes,  and  have,  maybe,  a  great 
six-foot  boy  to  think  about,  you'll  know  what 
trouble  is,  and  find  out  that  it  takes  more  than 
roses  and  sunshine  to  make  bright  weather." 

"Children  are  a  great  responsibility,  I  know," 
Chrissy  said,  gently;  "but,  after  all,  what  would 
the  world  be  without  your  one  ?  If  Liph  were 
gone,  you  would  find  it  hard  to  realize  that  the 
sun  shone." 

This  sentence  was  a  desperate  attempt  to  find 
the  mother-heart  of  this  ill-disciplined  woman, 
and  the  speaker  was  utterly  unprepared  for  the 
answer  she  received.  Mrs.  Stetson  laid  down  the 
pan  she  was  washing,  with  such  energy  that  she 
hit  it  against  another  of  its  own  metal,  and  the 
sound  rang  through  the  room,  while  she  said  with 
an  intensity  that  would  be  hard  to  describe : 

"I'd  be  glad  and  thankful  to  the  ends  of  my 
toes,  Mis'  Holmes,  if  he  lay  in  the  grave  this 
minute ! " 

"Oh,  dear  woman!"  cried  Chrissy,  appalled; 
"do  not  say  such  terrible  words!  Think  how 
fearfully  you  may  some  day  regret  them." 

Mrs.  Stetson  dashed  the  dishwater  from  her 
hands  with  a  fierce  shake,  and  spoke  with  almost 
more  energy  than  before. 

"I  would,  Mis'  Holmes;  that  is  as  true>  as 
there  is  a  sun  in  the  sky.  You  stand  there, 
pretty  and  smiling,  and  think  life  is  all  made  of 


THEY  COMPEL  HER  ATTENTION.        2  I 

roses  and  things ;  you  don't  know  nothing  about 
it ;  wait  till  you  have  a  boy  of  your  own,  and 
slave  your  fingers  to  the  bone  to  dress  him  up 
in  a  white  dress  every  day,  and  pretty  little  shoes 
with  buckles  on  them,  and  a  blue  sash,  and  all 
that,  and  curl  his  hair  over  your  fingers,  and  make 
a  fool  of  yourself,  being  proud  of  him  because  he 
is  handsomer  than  your  neighbor's  boy.  Then 
let  him  grow  up  and  learn  to  stand  around  street 
corners  and  loaf,  and  say  low  words  such  as  you 
never  heard  in  your  life  till  he  brought  'em  home 
to  you,  and  learn  to  smoke  and  chew,  and  learn 
to  sneer  at  you  for  an  old  woman  that  doesn't 
know  any  thing,  and  learn  by  and  by  to  spend  his 
days  and  half  his  nights  in  those  low-down  pes 
tiferous  saloons,  and  drink  their  low-down  whiskey 
till  he  doesn't  know  enough  not  to  strike  you 
when  he  comes  staggering  home,  and  you  trying 
to  help  him  to  bed.  Then  you'll  talk,  maybe, 
about  roses  and  sunshine,  but  I  don't  believe  it ! 
Yes,  ma'am ;  if  I  could  go  back  over  the  years 
and  dress  him  up  in  his  white  dress  and  his  pretty 
shoes,  and  curl  his  hair  and  lay  him  in  a  hand 
some  coffin,  don't  you  think  I'd  do  it  and  be  glad 
over  it  ?  I  tell  you,  you  don't  know  any  thing 
about  it."  And  Mrs.  Stetson  turned  away  with 
the  bitterest  sob  Chrissy  had  ever  heard,  with  the 
corner  of  her  soiled  apron  at  her  eyes  again. 
The  intruder  looked  at  her  in  utter  dismay. 


22  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

What  was  she  to  say  to  so  great  a  sorrow  ?  Yet 
how  could  she,  a  Christian  woman,  turn  away 
from  trouble  like  this  without  an  attempt  to  com 
fort  ?  She  went  forward  until  she  stood  close 
to  the  mother,  whose  hair  was  prematurely  gray, 
and  said  in  low,  pitiful  tones : 

"  I  am  very  sorry  for  you ;  I  wish  I  could  do 
something  to  help  you." 

"There  ain't  nothing  in  life  that  can  help  me," 
Mrs.  Stetson  said,  struggling  to  regain  her  com 
posure.  "I've  give  up.  I've  talked  to  Liph  and 
scolded  him,  tried  to  shame  him  into  being  some 
body  ;  and  I  never  accomplished  nothing,  only  to 
make  him  mad.  There's  nothing  to  look  forward 
to  now  but  ruin  for  him  and  me,  and  sometimes 
I  think  if  I  could  do  something  to  hurry  it  along, 
that  would  be  the  best  for  both  of  us." 

"God  can  save  Liph."  The  voice  that  spoke 
this  brief,  important  sentence,  was  low  and  sweet, 
but  wonderfully  earnest.  There  was  no  answer 
ing  thrill  in  the  woman's  heart ;  there  was  no 
lifting  of  the  gloom  on  her  face.  Even  the 
sacred  name  had  no  strong,  tender  association 
for  her. 

"  It  is  too  late  for  any  thing  but  ruin,"  she 
repeated.  "I've  known  that  this  good  while,  but 
I  don't  often  break  down.  I'm  ashamed  to  have 
you  see  me  like  this,  Mis'  Holmes.  I  ain't  got 
no  call  to  bother  you  with  my  miseries.  You  go 


THEY  COMPEL  HER  ATTENTION.        23 

on  and  don't  mind  me.  I'll  be  myself  in  a  few 
minutes,  and  I'll  send  that  worthless  Happy  right 
straight  up  stairs,  and  see  that  she  sits  there,  too. 
I'll  look  out  for  him  myself,  Mis'  Holmes;  so  you 
needn't  to  worry." 

Mrs.  Holmes  went  away  with  slow  step,  like 
one  in  a  dream.  What  a  page  of  life  she  had 
unwillingly  looked  upon  this  bright  afternoon ! 
Who  would  have  supposed  that  Mrs.  Stetson  ever 
cried  —  ever  did  anything,  indeed,  but  struggle 
with  her  three  meals  a  day,  and  her  inefficient 
help,  and  scold  her  one  boy  ?  During  the  two  or 
three  weeks  of  their  stay  in  the  house,  Mrs. 
Holmes  had  scarcely  given  this  boy  a  thought, 
save  sometimes  to  sigh  and  occasionally  to  smile, 
when  Mrs.  Stetson's  shrill  voice  was  heard  call 
ing  him  "a  worthless,  good-for-nothing,  lazy,  low 
lived  fellow,  not  worth  the  salt  which  he  used  on 
his  potatoes." 

She  had  supposed  him  to  be  a  half-grown,  mis 
chievous  youngster,  who  did  not  like  to  work,  and 
whose  mother  meant  very  little  of  what  she  said 
to  him.  Neither  she  nor  Stuart  had  ever  seen 
the  boy,  but  Stuart  had  been  amused  at  some  of 
the  phrases  that  floated  up  to  him  occasionally 
from  the  rooms  below,  and  had  adopted  them  to 
the  extent  that  he  would  sometimes  say  to  his 
wife:  "I'm  not  worth  the  salt  in  this  beef  tea, 
Chrissy,  dear."  And  they  had  both  laughed 


24  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

over  it,  and  had  not  dreamed  that  the  words  were 
the  utterance  of  a  bitter,  almost  broken-hearted 
woman.  As  Mrs.  Holmes  crossed  the  street 
and  moved  toward  the  supply  store  that  occupied 
the  furthest  corner  of  the  square,  she  heard  a 
loud  voice  call,  "  Look  out  there,  Liph !  that 
beam  will  hit  you." 

She  turned  quickly  in  the  direction  of  the 
beam,  curious  to  see  not  it  but  Liph.  He  was 
shambling  across  the  street,  dangerously  near  to 
the  beam  of  some  heavy  machinery,  which  was 
being  let  down  from  a  store-room  above.  Could 
it  be  possible  that  that  was  Liph,  the  merry- 
hearted,  lazy,  roguish  boy,  with  tangled  curls  and 
bare  feet  and  torn  jacket,  whom  she  had  always 
pictured  when  she  had  heard  his  mother's  voice  ? 

A  great  awkward  fellow,  towering  six  feet  high, 
with  a  shock  of  unkempt  hair ;  swarthy  of  skin, 
repulsive  as  regarded  dress  and  manner,  with  a 
scowl  on  his  face,  and  with  fierce  eyes,  which 
looked  at  one  askance  from  under  heavy  eye 
brows.  There  was  a  certain  something  in  his 
very  walk  that  indicated  utter  recklessness.  Mrs. 
Holmes  moved  on  rapidly,  but  she  couldn't  get 
away  from  the  sinking  of  heart  that  had  come 
to  her  as  she  caught  a  full  view  of  Liph's  face. 
She  could  not  get  away  from  his  mother's  words, 
"There's  nothing  for  Liph  but  ruin." 

It    looked    only    too    probable.       This    young 


THEY  COMPEL  HER  ATTENTION.        25 

worker  in  the  Master's  vineyard  knew  nothing 
at  all  about  the  class  that  Liph  Stetson  repre 
sented.  Young  men  in  danger,  needing  wise  and 
patient  hands  reached  out  to  save  them,  she  knew, 
or  thought  she  knew,  a  good  deal  about.  Had 
she  not  begun  with  her  own  brother  years  and 
years  ago  ?  But  almost  unconsciously  to  herself, 
such  young  men  had,  in  her  thoughts,  taken  the 
condition  of  her  brother  Harmon  during  those 
dangerous  years  of  his  life  —  handsome,  gay, 
witty,  well  dressed,  fond  of  society,  but  scorning 
any  thing  like  coarseness  or  roughness.  Then, 
too,  she  knew  about  clerks  in  groceries  and 
drug  stores,  and  the  great  army  of  respectably- 
employed  young  men  that  these  classes  repre 
sented.  Chrissy  Hollister's  world  had  lain  among 
them,  and  in  her  new  home  in  the  city,  she  and 
her  husband,  backed  by  their  grand  Christian 
Endeavor  society,  had  worked  faithfully,  with 
blessed  results,  among  many  such.  Absorbed 
in  her  work,  Chrissy,  at  least,  had  forgotten  that 
there  was  another,  and  perhaps  even  a  larger, 
class,  sorely  needing  help,  with  which  she  never 
came  in  contact.  Liph  Stetson  brought  this  fact 
to  her  notice  in  a  startling  manner.  The  giggling 
club,  which  had  made  such  a  lasting  impression 
upon  her,  was  of  another  class  from  those  to 
which  she  had  been  used ;  but  they  were  alto 
gether  unlike  Liph. 


26  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

She  walked  on,  thinking  about  him  and  about 
his  mother.  What  could  be  done  for  either  of 
them  ?  If  only  Stuart  were  well !  But  he  must 
not  even  be  told  the  story.  It  would  excite  him 
too  much,  he  would  be  so  eager  to  do  something. 
On  the  whole,  Mrs.  Holmes,  as  she  walked 
briskly  down  the  long  street  toward  her  washer 
woman's,  broke  utterly  her  resolution  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  "the  young  people  in  this 
vicinity,"  and  gave  more  thought  to  one  young 
person  in  that  single  half-hour  than  she  had  given 
to  the  entire  city  before.  Still,  she  did  not 
realize  that  such  was  the  case.  So  utterly  differ 
ent  was  Liph  Stetson  from  her  known  world,  that 
she  hardly  recognized  him  as  belonging  to  the 
"young  people."  She  reached  the  door  of  Mrs. 
Carpenter's  shabby  little  house  without  having 
had  a  single  ray  of  hope  given  her  concerning 
Liph's  future ;  without  a  suggestion  as  to  how 
to  reach  him  in  any  way. 

Mrs.  Carpenter  was  ironing.  Upon  the  two 
other  occasions  when  Mrs.  Holmes  had  seen  her 
she  had  been  ironing,  and  as  the  caller  stood  for 
a  moment  watching  the  swift  passes  of  the  iron 
over  the  snowy  muslin,  she  wondered  curiously  if 
this  comprised  the  woman's  life.  Her  encounter 
with  Liph  and  his  mother  had  somehow  roused 
her  interest  in  humanity.  She  had  forgotten  to 
dream  about  home  and  wonder  what  the  girls 


THEY  COMPEL  HER  ATTENTION.        2/ 

were  doing,  and  what  they  would  do  this  winter, 
and  what  would  be  said  and  done  that  first  night 
when  she  and  Stuart  went  back  to  them.  She 
had  thought  only  of  Mrs.  Stetson  and  Liph.  Now 
she  added  Mrs.  Carpenter  to  her  list. 

"The  woman  is  young,"  she  thought ;  "she  can 
hardly  be  more  than  thirty.  What  hard  lines 
there  are  on  her  face !  She  must  have  been 
pretty  once.  What  a  strange  impression  she  gives 
one  that  it  was  a  long  time  ago  —  forty  years 
ago  at  least !  Yet  there  isn't  a  thread  of  gray  in 
her  hair,  and  her  eyes  have  fire  in  them.  How 
severely  plain  her  dress  is!  Just  a  'straight-up- 
and-downness,'  Stuart  would  say,  without  even  a 
collar  to  relieve  it,  and  her  hair  stretched  back  as 
straight  and  as  firmly  as  comb  and  hairpins  will 
accomplish.  But  it  is  smooth,  and  her  dress  is 
clean.  Poor  Mrs.  Stetson  could  not  possibly  put 
herself  into  such  neatness.  This  woman  is  of  a 
different  type  from  Mrs.  Stetson.  Her  face  does 
not  look  happy.  I  wonder  if  she,  too,  has  a  story." 


CHAPTER    III. 

THEY    INCREASE    IN    NUMBER. 

E  thought  closed  with  a  little  sigh.  Mrs. 
JL  Holmes  was  certainly  dipping  into  strange 
chapters  of  life  this  afternoon,  all  unexpectedly. 

Not  willing  to  allow  herself  to  become  inter 
ested  in  another  person,  she  cut  short  her  reverie 
by  knocking  at  the  door.  The  ironer  raised  her 
eyes  for  an  instant,  then  dropped  them,  and  delib 
erately  finished  the  pillow-case  she  was  ironing, 
folded  and  hung  it  on  the  bars  near  at  hand,  and 
set  her  iron  on  the  stove,  before  she  came  slowly 
forward,  with  the  slightest  possible  bend  of  her 
head,  and  waited  for  the  intruder  to  announce 
her  errand. 

"Mrs.  Carpenter,"  said  her  caller,  "I  came  to 
speak  about  the  wrappers.  I  do  not  want  them 
starched,  please.  I  forgot  to  mention  it.  I  hope 
I  am  not  too  late." 

"No,"  Mrs.  Carpenter  said,  "I  have  not  got 
28 


THEY    INCREASE    IN    NUMBER.  29 

to  the  wrappers  yet,   but  they  would  look   much 
better  for  being  starched." 

"I  know,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  "but  I  want  to 
fold  them  away.  They  are  not  suited  to  my 
needs  here.  I  find  I  have  half  filled  my  trunk 
with  articles  which  do  not  belong  to  this  latitude." 

"  I  suppose  that  is  because  you  do  not  belong 
to  this  latitude  yourself,"  Mrs.  Carpenter  said, 
with  a  sort  of  cold  dignity. 

It  was  a  strange  thing  to  say.  Mrs.  Holmes 
regarded  her  somewhat  curiously,  interested  in 
spite  of  herself. 

"May  I  come  in  and  rest  a  few  minutes?" 
she  asked,  suddenly.  "  It  is  a  longer  walk  than 
I  imagined ;  I  have  driven  here  before,  you, 
know." 

"Of  course,"  said  Mrs.  Carpenter,  meaning, 
"Of  course,  you  can  rest." 

The  words  were  spoken  in  the  same  indifferent 
tone  as  before.  There  was  not  the  slightest  pro 
tense  of  cordiality.  Mrs.  Holmes  entered,  ano! 
took  the  seat  toward  which  her  hostess  motioned 
It  was  a  wooden-seated  chair  from  which  the  paint 
had  all  been  scrubbed  away.  There  were  only 
three  chairs  in  the  room,  all  of  hard,  uncompro 
mising  wood.  Two  of  them  were  now  doing  duty 
as  clothes-bars.  The  room  was  very  clean  and 
very  bare  —  not  an  attempt  at  comfort  of  any 
sort.  The  unceiled  walls  were  hung:  with  several 


3O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

articles  of  wearing  apparel,  a  man's  coat  with  the 
rest.  A  small  table  in  the  corner  had  a  man's 
hat  resting  on  it  beside  a  common  kerosene  lamp, 
which  was  perfectly  clean.  The  stove  on  which 
the  irons  busied  themselves  getting  ready  for 
work,  had  not  been  blackened  for  months,  appar 
ently,  but  had1  been  washed  clean  that  very  day, 
and  no  litter  of  ashes  or  of  chips  was  visible.  In 
short,  every  thing  was  in  dreary  order,  and  the 
ntr.nber  of  articles  which  comprised  the  entire 
furnishing  were  startlingly  few. 

Mrs.  Holmes  looked  about  her  with  pitiful  curi 
osity.  The  thought  that  this  was  actually  a  home 
struck  her  with  a  sense  of  chill.  Not  a  picture 
any  where,  not  a  book  or  paper,  not  a  flower  or 
plant,  not  a  living  thing  save  that  white-faced, 
stern-eyed  ironer  at  the  table !  Even  the  flies 
seemed  to  have  deserted  the  place,  discouraged, 
perhaps,  by  the  scrupulous  cleanliness  and  the 
absence  of  a  crumb  on  which  to  feast.  Did  the 
woman  by  the  table  feel  at  home  ?  Was  she  glad 
to  make  every  thing  so  clean  the  guest  wondered. 
Had  she  come  away  to  a  land  of  strangers  with 
one  for  whom  to  iron  and  scrub  and  save  were 
opportunities  for  which  she  thanked  God  ?  "  I 
could  do  it  for  Stuart,"  thought  the  happy  wife, 
"if  that  were  the  thing  to  do;  but  this  woman 
does  not  look  like  it.  Perhaps  she  is  a  widow, 
poor  thing !  I  have  never  asked  a  question  about 


THEY    INCREASE    IN    NUMBER.  31 

her.  She  looks  like  an  unhappy  woman.  She 
cannot  have  a  '  Liph'  to  mourn  over,  she  is  so 
young.  Perhaps,  though,  she  has  a  grave.  Well, 
if  it  is  a  baby's  grave,  she  may  have  much  to  be 
thankful  for."  And  again  Mrs.  Stetson's  words, 
which  had  seemed  so  terrible,  occurred  to  her. 
The  ironer  ironed  steadily,  and  stillness  reigned. 
It  began  to  grow  embarrassing.  Something  ought 
to  be  said ;  the  guest  could  not  decide  what. 

"Is  it  hard  work?"  she  asked,  at  last,  watching 
the  swift-moving  iron. 

"Did  you  never  do  it?" 

The  question  startled  her.  It  was  not  the  sort 
of  reply  she  had  expected  to  receive. 

"I  do  not  remember  that  I  ever  did,"  she  said, 
after  a  moment's  hesitation.  "  I  had  duties  in  my 
mother's  home,  but  that  did  not  happen  to  be  one 
of  them  ;  and  since  I  have  had  a  home  of  my  owP 
my  hands  have  been  full  with  other  kinds  of  ser 
vice.  It  does  not  look  like  hard  work,  but  I  sup 
pose  like  every  thing  else  which  is  worth  doing,  it 
requires  practice  in  order  to  be  skillful.  You  are 
a  beautiful  ironer,  I  think." 

"  I've  had  practice  enough,"  was  the  cold  reply, 
"and  am  likely  to.  One  has  to  live,  whether 
one  wants  to  or  not ;  and  it's  my  way  of 
living." 

This  seemed  very  pitiful.  Mrs.  Holmes  was 
unwilling  to  leave  the  conversation,  now  that  she 


32  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

had  once  begun,  without  having  some  heart  put 
into  it. 

"Do  you  not  like  to  live?"  she  asked,  gently. 

It  was  not  the  sentence  she  had  meant  to  say. 
It  seemed  almost  to  say  itself,  as  well  as  the  gen 
tle  words  which  followed.  "  Living  is  beautiful,  I 
think,  especially  to-day.  The  sky  is  so  blue,  and 
the  air  so  full  of  sweets.  I  heard  a  bird,  as 
I  came  by  the  park,  swelling  into  a  perfect 
ecstasy  of  song.  I  never  heard  a  bird  sing  in 
December  before.  I  mean  one  that  was  not 
caged." 

The  reply  that  she  received  startled  her  as 
much  as  Mrs.  Stetson's  tears. 

"I  hate  life;  I  hate  the  sunshine  and  the 
smells  and  the  birds.  I  hate  every  thing! " 

Her  guest  looked  at  her  with  a  keen  sense  of 
pain.  Another  phase  of  unhappy  life  with  which 
she  did  not  know  how  to  deal.  This  was  worse 
than  Mrs.  Stetson's.  The  very  disorder  and  dis 
comfort  with  which  that  woman  was  surrounded 
seemed  to  take  some  of  the  fierceness  from  what 
she  said,  while  her  tears  humanized  the  appeal. 
But  there  were  no  tears  here,  the  iron  was  mov 
ing  more  swiftly  than  before,  and  only  a  little 
sterner  setting  of  the  lips  reminded  one  that  the 
woman  had  spoken  at  all. 

"It  is  God's  world,"  her  caller  said  at  last; 
"and  the  sunshine  and  birds  and  sweet  perfumes, 


THEY  INCREASE  IN  NUMBER.  33 

were  made  to  help  you.  Could  you  not  get  some 
thing  from  them  for  your  life  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  get  mockery  from  them ;  something 
which  makes  me  hate  life  more  every  day ;  yet  for 
decency's  sake  I  go  on  living.  People  who  have 
come  from  New  England  will  do  any  thing  for 
decency's  sake." 

"Are  you  from  New  England?"  Mrs.  Holmes 
asked  with  instant  sympathy;  "then  you  are,  like 
myself,  far  away  from  home.  Did  you  come  for 
the  sake  of  some  one  very  dear  to  you?" 

At  the  risk  of  probing  a  terrible  wound,  she 
resolved  to  ask  that  question.  It  would  be  much 
better  for  this  fierce  woman  to  break  down  utterly 
and  weep  before  her  than  to  keep  such  a  pent-up 
torrent  of  pain  in  her  heart. 

"It  must  be  a  grave  over  which  she  is  rebell 
ious,"  thought  her  visitor,  and  she  almost  expected 
the  iron  to  cease  its  swift  passes,  and  to  see  the 
ironer's  face  buried  in  the  garment  she  was 
smoothing. 

"I  came  because  I  was  a  fool,"  was  the  hard 
reply,  and  the  iron  rushed  over  the  board  with 
redoubled  vigor;  "and  I'm  a  fool  to  stand  here 
talking  about  it,"  was  the  next  outburst  upon  the 
dismayed  silence.  "What's  the  use  of  talking? 
What's  the  use  of  asking  questions  ?" 

"It  sometimes  helps,  to  talk,"  Mrs.  Holmes 
said,  at  last,  very  gently ;  "when  I  am  homesick, 


34  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

I  think  if  I  only  had  some  one  to  tell  it  to,  half 
the  trouble  would  be  gone,  but  I  have  to  keep 
very  still.  I  am  a  stranger  here,  alone  with  my 
husband,  and  I  dare  not  speak  to  him,  because  he 
is  ill  and  needs  all  the  help  and  cheer  I  can  give 
him.  I  can  imagine  what  it  might  be  to  live  far 
away  from  one's  home  for  years ;  quite  alone  in 
the  world.  Have  you  no  friends  here?" 

"  I  have  no  friends  anywhere,  and  never  expect 
to  have ;  but  I  don't  know  why  I  am  telling  you 
so." 

"Because  you  are  mistaken,"  Mrs.  Holmes 
said,  with  quiet  assurance.  "Every  one  is  mis 
taken  who  thinks  so.  You  have  many  friends, 
brothers  and  sisters ;  the  earth  is  every  day  being 
peopled  with  those  who  are  kindred  in  Jesus 
Christ.  I  hope  you  know  Him.  If  you  do,  you 
surely  know  that  however  sad  your  life  may  be,  it 
is  not  desolate." 

"  I  don't  know  any  thing  about  it,"  said  Mrs. 
Carpenter,  doggedly.  "  I  never  did  understand 
that  kind  of  talk.  When  I  was  a  girl  in  New 
England  it  used  to  be  all  Greek  to  me,  and  it  is 
worse  than  that  now.  If  you  are  one  of  that 
kind,  you'd  better  not  waste  it  on  me.  Oh,  I'm 
not  a  heathen.  I  believe  in  God,  and  in  the 
Bible,  some  of  it  at  least ;  but  it  is  precious  little 
good  it  has  ever  done  me,  and  the  time  has  gone 
by  when  I  expect  it  to.  I'll  have  your  clothes 


THEY    INCREASE    IN    NUMBER.  35 

ready  by  Friday,  as  I  said,  and  I  think  they  can 
be  made  to  suit  you." 

Evidently  that  was  a  dismissal ;  but  Mrs. 
Holmes  was  desperate.  For  the  second  time  that 
day  she  had  come  in  contact  with  one  to  whom 
the  Name  above  all  names  was  an  idle  word, 
bringing  no  suggestion  of  help  or  comfort, 
though  there  was  sore  need  of  both.  Could  she 
go  away  without  another  effort  to  help  this  soul  in 
peril  ?  Yet  what  would  help  her  ?  If  she  only 
knew  what  had  brought  about  this  condition  of 
rebellion  ! 

"I  am  very  sorry  for  you,"  she  said,  with 
exceeding  gentleness  ;  "  I  wish  so  much  that  I 
could  do  or  say  something  to  help  you.  Is  your 
life  so  hard  because  you  are  alone  in  the  world  ? 
Are  you  a  widow?" 

"No." 

Nothing  which  had  been  said  so  dismayed  the 
questioner  as  that  single  monosyllable,  shot  at 
her  from  a  pair  of  lips  which  instinctively  com 
pressed  themselves  into  the  hardest  lines  Mrs. 
Holmes  had  ever  seen  on  a  woman's  face !  Cer 
tainly  she  had  not  said  that  if  she  were,  her  life 
would  be  more  endurable;  yet  what  did  that  face 
imply  ? 

The  sound  of  a  step  was  heard  outside,  and 
there  shambled  toward  the  open  door  the  figure 
of  a  man.  A  man  with  grizzly  gray  hair  and 


36  HER   ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

unkempt  beard,  bleared  eyes  and  soiled  linen ; 
a  man  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  with  his  old  hat  pushed 
to  the  back  of  his  head,  the  very  abandonment  of 
carelessness ;  a  man  whose  clothes,  and  even 
beard,  were  stained  with  tobacco  juice.  In  his 
hand  he  held  an  old  smoke-blackened  pipe,  which 
had  evidently  just  been  removed  from  his  mouth. 

"Good-day,  ma'am,"  he  said,  nodding  his  head. 
To  her  dismay  Mrs.  Holmes  discovered  that  the 
salutation  was  addressed  to  her.  She  arose  sud 
denly,  uncertain  whether  or  not  to  return  the 
courtesy.  Was  that  a  drunken  man  who  had 
strayed  into  the  wrong  door?  She  turned  toward 
Mrs.  Carpenter  to  see  if  the  appearance  fright 
ened  her,  and  caught  upon  her  face  a  look  of 
utter  repulsion,  but  there  was  no  fear  in  it. 

"Don't  come  in  here  with  that  pipe,"  she  said, 
in  tones  which  rasped  as  a  file  might  upon  steel ; 
"you  know  better  than  that." 

"For  the  land's  sake!"  said  the  man,  "what 
hurt  can  the  pipe  do  when  it's  out?" 

But  he  shambled  away,  and  the  guest  made 
swift  exit,  amazed  and  sick  at  heart.  Something 
in  the  woman's  manner  told  her  that  that  man 
was  her  husband. 

For  several  blocks  Mrs.  Holmes  walked  swiftly, 
conscious  of  an  effort  not  to  think  at  all.  Her 
heart  was  so  full  of  pain,  and  indeed  almost  of  ter 
ror,  that  it  seemed  to  her  she  must  not  think  until 


THEY    INCREASE    IN    NUMBER.  37 

she  was  in  a  quieter  mood.  What  misery  was 
this  upon  which  she  had  stumbled  unawares? 
Two  women  in  one  afternoon,  under  the  curse  of 
sin,  with  apparently  no  knowledge  of  a  remedy. 
But  Mrs.  Carpenter's  case  seemed  far  worse  to 
the  young  wife  than  Mrs.  Stetson's.  She  knew 
nothing  about  motherhood ;  but  what  mockery  of 
marriage  vows  was  here !  That  man  to  be  that 
woman's  husband !  And  the  idea  of  a  woman 
speaking  to  her  husband  as  she  had  spoken  to 
him  !  It  was  all  too  terrible  to  be  thought  about. 
What  an  awful  world  it  was,  viewed  from  some 
stand-points !  She  had  heard  of  such  people. 
The  papers  mentioned  them  sometimes.  She 
had  even  in  the  city  brushed  past  certain  objects 
who  had  made  her  shiver  and  draw  her  dress  away 
from  contact ;  but  to  come  face  to  face  with  a 
respectable  woman,  clean  and  neat,  and  with  an 
air  of  rigid  cleanliness  about  every  thing  that  she 
touched,  and  to  discover  that  she  was  bound  by 
the  holiest  ties  to  such  as  that,  was  a  contact 
which  this  woman  had  never  made  before.  She 
found  herself  trembling  in  every  limb.  It  would 
never  do  to  present  herself  before  Stuart  in  that 
state;  he  would  think  she  had  been  alarmed, 
insulted  perhaps,  and  would  arouse  to  instant 
anxiety.  She  tried  to  think  about  the  birds  who 
were  still  singing,  and  to  take  in  great  whiffs  of 
the  perfume-laden  air,  and  forget  the  pictures  of 


38  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

misery  which  had  made  such  discord  with  the  day. 
But  it  was  hard  to  get  away  from  them.  She  was 
glad  when  her  own  door  was  reached,  albeit  she 
was  reminded  that  she  had  by  no  means  got 
ten  away  from  disagreeable  subjects  by  seeing 
"Liph"  stalking  sulkily  across  the  street  toward 
home.  He  looked  more  repulsive  to  her  than  he 
had  two  hours  before.  She  even  told  herself  that 
he  had  a  worse  face  than  Mr.  Carpenter,  if  it  were 
possible  that  that  man  was  Mr.  Carpenter. 

In  the  hall  above,  sat  Happy,  a  paper-covered 
book  in  hand,  and  so  absorbed  that  she  did  not 
hear  the  lady's  step.  Mrs.  Holmes  wondered  if 
she  would  have  been  aroused  by  her  husband's 
feeble  voice,  supposing  he  had  wanted  her. 

"You  must  be  fond  of  reading,"  she  said,  close 
at  the  girl's  elbow. 

Happy  started  violently. 

"You  scairt  me  half  to  pieces,"  she  said;  "I 
didn't  hear  you  come,  nor  nothing." 

"So  I  observed.  What  have  you  here  that  is 
so  absorbing?"  and  she  bent  low  enough  to 
read  the  name  on  the  title-page,  "A  Loyal 
Lover." 

The  name  told  her  very  little;  she  was  not 
familiar  with  that  class  of  literature,  yet,  with  the 
discernment  of  the  cultured  woman,  she  instinct 
ively  gauged  the  probable  merits  of  the  book. 
What  a  pity  that  a  girl  having  intellect  enough  to 


THEY    INCREASE    IN    NUMBER.  39 

read  at  all,  should  feed  herself  upon  such  material 
as  this. 

"It  is  an  awful  interesting  story,"  Happy  said; 
"I  was  just  reading  how  she  couldn't  get  out  of 
the  stone  house ;  I  don't  believe  she  ever  will, 
either." 

"Is  that  interesting?"  Mrs.  Holmes  asked. 

"Why,  yes,"  said  Happy;  "what  could  be 
more  interesting  than  a  girl  in  a  place  out  of 
which  she  could  not  get  ?  He  is  trying  his  level 
best  to  get  her,  but  I  don't  believe  he  can  do 
it." 

Who  "he"  or  "she"  was  Mrs.  Holmes  did  not 
try  to  discover.  Her  thoughts  were  still  revolv 
ing  about  the  problem  which  had  beset  her  this 
afternoon.  Just  now  it  was  taking  a  new  form. 

"Happy,"  she  said,  dreamily,  "does  your  name 
fit  you?" 

"Ma'am?"  said  Happy,  staring  harder  than 
ever. 

Mrs.  Holmes  smiled. 

"A  girl  named  Happy  should  be  happy,  should 
she  not  ?  Does  yours  tell  the  truth  about  you  ?" 

"Oh!"  said  Happy.  "No,  ma'am,  I  ain't 
happy  a  bit." 

Not  even  she,  though  her  face  looked  so  free 
from  thought  of  any  kind  !  Mrs.  Holmes  looked 
at  her  narrowly,  wondering  how  deep  was  her 
dissatisfaction, 


4O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"What  would  it  take  to  make  you  quite 
happy?"  she  said;  "think  and  tell  me." 

<'Oh,  I  don't  need  to  think;  I  know,"  and  the 
girl's  face  gleamed  with  a  radiant  smile.  "If  I 
had  a  pink  silk  dress  trimmed  with  lace,  and  a 
fan  trimmed  with  swan's-down,  I  should  be  per 
fectly  happy." 

Poor  little  idiot !  Her  questioner  could  have 
cried,  but  instead  she  laughed. 

"Where  did  you  see  a  fan  trimmed  with  swan's- 
down  ? "  she  asked,  with  her  hand  on  the  door 
knob. 

"She  had  one,"  said  Happy,  inclining  her  head 
toward  the  book  still  on  her  lap. 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  "I  am  sorry  it  is 
not  in  my  power  to  make  you  perfectly  happy 
after  your  service  to  me.  Has  Mr.  Holmes 
needed  any  thing?" 

"  I  guess  not,  ma'am ;  he's  not  spoken  a  word. 
He  walked  about  the  room  some,  and  went  out  on 
the  piazza  once,  and  I  asked  if  he  wanted  me,  and 
he  said  no." 

"Thank  you,"  said  the  lady,  and  went  in  to  her 
husband,  thinking,  as  she  did  so,  of  Mrs.  Carpen 
ter  and  her  husband. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

SHE    ORGANIZES. 

HAPPY  is  not  at  rest,  either,"  Mrs.  Holmes 
said  to  her  husband  an  hour  later,  as 
she  sat  beside  him  skillfully  manipulating  an 
orange  and  placing  delicious  morsels  in  his  mouth. 
"Although  her  name  is  Happy,  it  does  not  fit. 
She  needs  a  pink  silk  dress  trimmed  with  lace, 
and  a  swan's-down  fan  to  give  her  peace  of 
mind." 

They  broke  into  merry  laughter  over  poor 
Happy's  idea  of  bliss ;  then,  after  a  moment,  Mr. 
Holmes  asked : 

"Why  do  you  use  that  term  'either'?  Are 
you  turning  pessimist,  dear  little  wife?" 

"Oh,"  she  said,  evasively,  "I  have  seen  several 
persons  to-day  who  seemed  to  me  far  from  happi 
ness  ;  and,  indeed,  Stuart,  do  you  not  think  it  is 
unusual  to  find  people  who  are  reasonably  con 
tented  ?  The  world  seems  full  of  disappointment 
and  unrest." 

41 


42  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"It  is  too  true,"  he  said,  gravely  ;  "but  the  solu 
tion  is  plain  ;  the  world  is  at  work  trying  to  find 
its  happiness  in  that  which  was  never  intended  to 
satisfy  souls,  and  disappointment  is  inevitable. 
Even  among  Christians  I  have  often  been  pained 
with  the  thought  which  troubles  you;  so  few  of 
those  who  profess  to  have  found  the  true  source 
of  satisfaction  carry  a  satisfied  front." 

There  was  a  slight  flush  on  his  wife's  face  as 
she  listened  to  his  words.  After  a  moment  of 
silence,  she  said  humbly : 

"I  know  it.  We  do  not  succeed  in  impressing 
outsiders  with  the  fact  that  we  have  found  rest. 
But,  Stuart,  how  can  commonplace  people  who 
live  in  little  worlds  of  their  own,  help  that  ? 
When  their  plans  go  awry  they  must  necessarily 
feel  tried,  must  they  not  ?  And  few  people  have 
self-control  enough  to  cover  their  disappointment 
from  the  eyes  of  others." 

"  It  is  more  than  self-control  which  is  lacking, 
I  think,  dear  wife ;  it  is  greatly  to  be  feared 
that  the  people  who  feel  a  disappointment  which 
amounts  to  bitterness,  or  results  in  continued 
brooding  over  the  miscarriage  of  their  plans,  have 
not  yet  learned  to  trust  themselves  completely  in 
God's  hands,  but  are  planning  for  their  way 
instead  of  his ;  because,  else,  they  would  grasp 
the  fact  that  'all  things  work  together  for  good 
to  those  who  love  God.' ' 


SHE    ORGANIZES.  43 

The  flush  on  Mrs.  Holmes'  face  deepened  ;  she 
did  not  believe  that  her  husband  was  talking  at 
her,  yet  his  words  fitted. 

"Do  you  know  how  different  you  are  from 
other  people?"  she  asked,  after  a  moment;  "I 
have  always  thought  so,  but  since  your  illness  I 
am  sure  of  it.  For  instance,  you  are  very  differ 
ent  from  me ;  I  can  join  you  in  trusting,  when 
all  goes  well,  and  we  are  hard  at  work  together 
in  the  line  which  we  have  planned,  but  I  haven't 
the  grace  which  enables  me  to  sit  patiently  with 
folded  hands  and  wait.  It  has  been  wonderful  to 
me  to  see  how  patiently  you  endure  it  all,  and 
how  quietly  you  wait  for  to-morrow.  I  wish  I 
knew  how  to  be  like  you,  but  I  do  not." 

The  smile  which  he  gave  her  was  pleasant  to 
see,  as  he  said  : 

"The  reason  for  that  is  obvious,  too,  my  dar 
ling.  '  Grace  sufficient  for  our  day '  is  the  prom 
ise,  and  I  daily  thank  our  Heavenly  Father  that 
he  has  not  made  it  necessary  for  you  to  rest ;  that 
your  health  is  strong,  and  your  heart,  relieved 
from  anxiety,  can  take  hold  of  his  work  as  vigor 
ously  as  ever ;  therefore,  of  course,  you  are  not 
prepared  for  resting  or  waiting." 

She  shook  her  head. 

"Ah,  but,  Stuart,  that  is  not  quite  true;  there 
is  health  enough  ;  I  never  felt  better ;  but  there 
is  no  work  which  I  can  do.  I  am  forced  to  wait, 


44  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

not  needing  to,  you  see.  I  think,  after  all,  that 
is  what  gives  me  the  feeling  of  unrest  which  I 
have  sometimes.  Not  that  I  am  unhappy,"  she 
added,  earnestly,  "  or  that  my  heart  is  not  almost 
bursting  with  gratitude  for  His  goodness  in  giving 
you  back  to  me,  but  at  times  the  thought  of  what 
we  were  doing  at  home  and  of  how  they  miss  us, 
makes  me  restless  for  the  months  to  pass.  I  do 
not  know  how  to  work  except  in  certain  grooves." 

It  was  his  turn  to  shake  his  head. 

"  No,  my  dear,  there  is  where  you  mistake.  It 
is  the  Lord's  world  down  here  as  well  as  at  home, 
and  the  harvest  waits  for  laborers  here  as  else 
where  ;  the  very  fact  that  you  have  seen  to-day 
and  recognized  starving  souls  trying  to  feed  upon 
husks,  proves  that  the  Master  is  speaking  to  you 
through  them.  They  are  his  lost  ones,  Chrissy. 
Has  he  sent  you  down  here  this  winter  to  find 
some  of  them  ?" 

The  twilight  was  gathering  fast.  Mrs.  Holmes 
was  glad  that  her  husband  could  not  now  dis 
tinctly  see  her  face ;  she  knew  that  a  look  almost 
of  despair  had  swept  over  it.  How  utterly  impos 
sible  it  seemed  to  her  to  do  any  thing  for  people 
like  Mrs.  Stetson  and  Liph,  and  Mrs.  Carpenter 
and  her  husband,  and  poor  Happy,  with  her  paper 
novels  and  her  "pink  silk"  yearnings.  Stuart 
did  not  know  the  sort  of  people  she  had  seen  that 
day,  and  she  would  not  run  the  risk  of  giving 


SHE    ORGANIZES.  45 

him  a  restless  night  by  trying  to  describe  them. 
However,  as  if  he  could  read  her  thoughts,  he 
went  on  : 

"The  longer  I  live,  the  more  sure  I  am  that  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  one  thing  suited  to 
the  needs  of  souls,  no  matter  how  high  they  are, 
humanly  speaking,  or  how  low.  It  is  the  one 
thing  which  effects  results,  without  regard  to  sta 
tion  ;  that,  in  itself,  ought  to  mark  its  divine 
origin.  Think  of  any  other  influence  capable  of 
reaching  at  once  the  palaces  and  the  slums  of  this 
world,  working  transformations  equally  wonder 
ful  in  both  !  " 

Was  there  a  power  which  could  transform 
Mr.  Carpenter  and  Liph  Stetson  ?  Yes,  Chrissy 
Holmes  believed,  but  she  could  not  realize  it. 
Rather,  she  could  not  realize  the  possibility  of  her 
being  used  as  a  factor  in  the  case. 

"  I  know  only  one  way  of  working,"  she  said, 
humbly ;  and  she  felt  very  humble,  indeed.  It 
was  her  humiliation,  she  thought,  that  she  could 
work  in  one  groove  only. 

"  I  was  born  in  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society, 
you  know,  and  through  that  channel  I  have  been 
able  to  help;  but  outside  of  it  I  am  paralyzed." 

"Yes,"  he  said  heartily,  "that  is  true;  it  is  true 
of  all  workers  the  world  over,  Chrissy;  honest 
endeavor,  Christ  permeating  every  thought  and 
movement,  is  the  one  hope  for  the  world.  There 


46  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

was  never  a  grander  name  chosen  for  a  society 
than  that  of  Christian  endeavor  —  it  is  at  once 
simplicity  itself,  and  all-comprehensive." 

His  words  gave  Mrs.  Holmes'  heart  a  thrill. 
The  thought  came  to  her  with  new  power  that 
their  society  was,  after  all,  simply  a  band  of 
Christians  organized  for  the  purpose  of  doing  to 
better  advantage  the  work  given  them.  What 
they  did,  was  what  individual  Christians  should 
be  doing  the  world  over;  and  there  was  a  sense 
in  which  there  was  a  Christian  endeavor  branch 
wherever  one  of  God's  people  tarried.  "  I  am 
and  must  be  a  Christian  endeavorer,"  she  told 
herself,  "wherever  I  am;  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  resting  from  it  until  God  lays  his  hand  upon 
me  and  bids  me  rest.  But  oh,  what  can  I  do  ? 
Haven't  I  tried?" 

The  idea  of  forming  the  people  whose  acquaint 
ance  she  had  made  that  afternoon  into  a  society 
floated  through  her  mind  with  such  an  utterly 
ludicrous  side  to  it,  that  she  could  scarcely  keep 
herself  from  bursting  into  laughter.  What  if  she 
should  attempt  so  wild  a  thing?  Make  Liph 
Stetson,  for  instance,  secretary,  and  Mrs.  Stetson 
and  Mrs.  Carpenter  a  "lookout  committee!" 
But  the  thought  was  not,  after  all,  born  of  frivol 
ity.  The  ludicrous  element  in  it  faded  before  a 
sudden,  solemn  thought,  chiming  in  with  the 
thoughts  which  had  just  preceded  it.  Why  not? 


SHE    ORGANIZES.  47 

She  was  a  Christian  endeavorer  —  an  active  mem 
ber.  Why  not  consider  these,  and  any  others 
against  whom  she  brushed,  as  associate  members, 
and  work  toward  securing  them  for  active  service  ? 
Not  in  a  public  organization,  of  course.  To  have 
attempted  even  an  explanation  of  her  hopes  and 
plans  to  any  one  of  them  would  have  been  folly ; 
but  all  the  same  she  realized,  with  a  brilliant  smile, 
that  there  was  an  organization — Jesus  Christ,  the 
great  Head  of  the  United  Society,  and  she,  the 
"active  member,"  working  together.  The  idea 
thrilled  her,  as  well  it  might.  She  moved  about, 
setting  the  room  to  rights,  stepping  lightly,  for 
Stuart  was  weary  after  his  long  talk,  and  lay  back 
among  the  pillows,  resting.  But  as  she  set  back 
the  chairs  and  folded  and  laid  away  papers,  there 
was  in  her  heart  a  spring  of  hope  and  cheer,  such 
as  had  not  been  felt  for  days.  A  definite  purpose 
was  formed.  It  took  no  shape  as  yet,  so  far  as 
regarded  action,  but  the  resolve  had  quickened 
her  pulses  into  a  healthy  glow.  She  could  not 
help  giving  Stuart  a  hint  of  it  as  she  brought  him 
his  glass  of  milk,  just  before  he  slept  that  night. 

"Stuart,  I  am  not  going  to  force  myself  to 
rest ;  I  shall  wait  for  that,  until  it  is  sent  for  me 
to  do.  I  shall  try  again,  in  some  way,  I  don't 
how,  and  in  truth  the  how  has  been  the  trouble 
all  the  while.  Don't  you  know  how  I  failed,  so 
very  lately  ? " 


48  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  smiling;  "were  you  ever  told, 
dear  wife,  that  the  measure  of  your  responsibility 
was  to  be  determined  by  the  success  you  had  in 
his  work  ?  Did  you  ever  think  how  often  Jesus 
Christ  seemed  to  fail,  when  he  was  on  earth?" 

She  had  moved  from  him  to  give  attention  to 
the  lamp,  but  she  turned  back  and  gave  him  the 
full  view  of  a  radiant  face. 

"  Oh,  Stuart !  I  never  thought  of  that !  How 
wonderful  it  was!  They  sneered  at  Him,  and  yet 
He  went  steadily  on  !  " 

At  the  moment  she  thought,  with  a  blush  of 
shame,  of  the  giggling  club.  What  power  they 
had  over  her,  even  in  the  face  of  the  experience  of 
Jesus  Christ ! 

"Thank  you,"  she  said,  bending  down  to  him 
for  good-night,  "  I  wonder  that  you  have  not  been 
almost  ashamed  of  me." 

Plans  for  aggressive  work  by  no  means  shaped 
themselves  during  the  night,  as  the  newly- 
resolved  worker  had  almost  hoped  they  would. 
The  way  looked  as  bewildering  as  ever  by  the 
next  morning's  light,  but  her  resolution  was 
unshaken.  She  had  established  her  husband  on 
the  front  piazza,  with  his  feet  in  a  flood  of  sun 
shine,  and  his  eyes  screened  from  its  glare.  He 
had  taken  his  morning  walk  down  the  long  stretch 
of  veranda,  had  plucked  with  his  own  hand  a 
spray  of  sweet-scented  bloom  which  had  climbed 


SHE    ORGANIZES.  49 

up  to  him  on  the  trellis  ;  had  eaten  a  freshly-laid 
egg  and  a  piece  of  toast  prepared  by  his  wife's 
own  hands,  had  finished  with  an  orange  or  two, 
and  now  was  resting  and  looking  the  very  embodi 
ment  of  patient  gratitude.  Indeed,  they  had  both 
been  jubilant  over  the  fact  that  he  had  walked  a 
hundred  steps  further  this  morning  than  he  had 
since  his  sickness,  and  with  less  fatigue.  There 
was  a  song  in  his  wife's  heart  as  she  moved  about 
their  room,  putting  the  dainty  touches  here  and 
there  which  made  of  it  a  home,  instead  of  an 
inclosure  with  four  walls  and  the  bare  necessities. 
"Happy"  was  blundering  with  the  hearth  belong 
ings —  letting  the  shovel  fall  with  a  loud  clang, 
letting  the  ashes  escape  from  her  and  filter  over 
the  matting;  doing  every  thing  with  as  little 
appearance  of  skill  as  was  possible,  and  with  an 
air  of  farawayness  which  suggested  that  her 
thoughts  were  still  upon  the  hapless  "lovers," 
whoever  they  might  be.  As  Mrs.  Holmes'  eyes 
came  back  from  the  picture  which  she  made  in 
her  torn  and  soiled  dress  of  flimsy  cotton,  much 
too  light  and  too  showily  made  for  the  work  with 
which  it  was  associated,  her  eye  was  caught  by 
the  motto  which  hung  at  the  foot  of  the  bed.  A 
lovely  bit  of  illuminated  lettering,  in  German  text, 
done  by  her  brother  Harmon's  hand:  "As  Ye 
Have  Opportunity."  Those  were  the  words 
which  appealed  to  her  with  sudden  power.  She 


5O  HER   ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

had  asked  for  plans,  for  ways  of  working,  for 
definite  openings.  Was  this  her  answer?  "As 
ye  have  opportunity."  Why,  of  course.  What 
could  any  worker  do  but  follow  that  simple  rule  ? 

Was  the  girl  sitting  stupidly  among  the  ashes, 
the  sweeping-brush  held  absently  in  a  hand  dis 
figured  by  two  or  three  very  cheap  rings,  while 
with  the  other  hand  she  toyed  with  a  tawdry 
ribbon,  the  soiled  ends  of  which  hung  down  from 
her  neck  —  was  this  person  an  opportunity?  What 
could  possibly  be  done  for  her  now  and  here  ? 

As  Mrs.  Holmes  looked,  her  heart  grew  pitiful. 
Was  it  not,  after  all,  almost  as  sad  a  picture  of  a 
wasted  life  as  even  Mrs.  Carpenter  presented  ? 
How  easily  one  could  forecast  the  future  for  her, 
and  imagine  her  a  careworn,  slatternly,  fretful 
woman,  mismanaging  a  dreadful  home,  misruling 
some  miserable  children,  unless,  indeed,  a  worse 
picture  might  be  drawn  for  her  !  Something  of 
this  kind,  unless  some  wonderful  uplifting  power 
took  hold  of  her. 

What  was  it  Stuart  had  said?  "There  is  only 
one  influence  which  is  strong  enough  to  reach 
palace  and  hovel  alike,  and  transform  both." 
Forever  blessed  be  the  name  of  Him  who  had 
revealed  such  a  power  in  the  world.  But  how 
could  it  be  made  to  touch  the  girl  in  the  ashes  ? 

"Happy,"  said  her  mistress,  suddenly,  "have 
you  reconciled  yourself  yet  to  your  name?" 


SHE    ORGANIZES.  51 

"Ma'am?"  said  Happy,  stupidly,  letting  fall 
the  brush  and  scattering  a  fresh  cloud  of  ashes  as 
she  spoke. 

"  I  am  still  thinking  about  your  name ;  it  ought 
to  fit.  Why  do  you  not  set  about  making  your 
life  so  happy  that  people  who  hear  you  called  will 
be  sure  to  feel  how  wise  it  was  to  have  named  you 
so?" 

Happy  giggled  bashfully. 

"I  ain't  no  kind  of  objection  to  bein'  happy," 
she  said,  "but  I  don't  know  how  I  could  go  to 
work ;  not  just  now.  I  have  as  good  a  time  as  I 
can  git,  but  that  is  saying  dreadful  little." 

"Oh,  but  I  feel  sure  you  are  mistaken  in  that. 
People  take  the  strangest  ways  of  having  good 
times  !  They  are  always  after  happiness — every 
body  is — but  they  make  mistakes  in  their  plans. 
Do  you  know  what  your  name  means  ?  What  is 
the  full  name  ?  " 

"  It  is  an  awful  homely  one,"  Happy  said  dis 
dainfully.  "I  was  named  for  my  grandmother; 
and  I'm  sure  I  don't  know  why  she  wanted  to 
have  anybody  going  around  carrying  it  forever; 
it's  Hepzibah.  I  never  heard  such  a  name.  I 
wouldn't  give  it  to  a  cat." 

"I  am  not  sure  that  I  would,"  Mrs.  Holmes 
said,  smiling,  "but  that  does  not  alter  the  fact 
that  it  is  a  beautiful  name  for  a  woman." 

Whereupon  Happy  sat  upright  and  stared. 


52  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"  Now  you  don't  think  it  is  pretty ! "  she  said, 
incredulously. 

"  It  is  better  than  pretty ;  it  is  beautiful,  be 
cause  of  its  meaning.  Do  you  know  what  it 
means?" 

"Means!"  repeated  Happy,  in  bewilderment. 
"Why,  it  means  just  the  name  of  somebody." 

"Yes,  but  in  olden  times,  more  often  than  now, 
names  had  meanings.  That  is  an  old  Hebrew 
word,  the  language,  you  know,  in  which  part  of 
the  Bible  was  written,  and  it  means,  'My  delight  is 
in  her.'  Can  you  think  of  having  a  very  great  and 
powerful  friend,  who,  whenever  he  thought  of  you, 
or  heard  your  name,  would  feel  its  fitness,  because 
he  would  say  to  himself,  'My  delight  is  in  her'?" 

Such  a  look  of  soft,  womanly  radiance  spread 
over  Happy's  silly  face,  that  Mrs.  Holmes  was 
almost  dismayed  ;  it  was  only  too  apparent  that 
she  was  giving  form  and  name  to  the  "great  and 
powerful  friend,"  and  that  her  conception  was  as 
far  as  possible  from  that  of  the  woman  who  was 
trying  to  talk  to  her.  Did  she  name  the  friend 
from  the  novel  which  had  absorbed  her,  and  did 
he  exist  as  yet  only  between  wretched  paper  cov 
ers,  or  had  he  taken  visible  shape  to  this  silly, 
ignorant  girl  ?  Mrs.  Holmes  made  haste  with 
her  next  thought ;  albeit  she  knew  not  how  to 
present  it,  and  wondered  whether  this  were,  pos 
sibly,  a  case  of  "casting  pearls." 


SHE    ORGANIZES.  53 

"I  am  thinking,  Happy,  of  the  verse  in  the 
Bible  where  your  name  is  mentioned.  Did  you 
know  your  name  was  in  the  Bible?  'Thou  shalt 
be  called  Hepzibah,'  a  prophet  once  said,  'for  the 
Lord  delighteth  in  thee.'  If  you  lived  such  a  life 
that  the  dear  Lord  himself,  looking  down  and 
watching  you  all  day,  as  he  does,  could  delight  in 
you,  do  you  not  know  that  your  name  would  fit, 
and  that,  in  spite  of  any  thing  which  could  happen 
to  you,  you  would  certainly  be  happy  ? " 

The  girl  seemed  startled,  half  frightened ;  and 
the  radiant  look  faded  from  her  face.  She  replied 
dully,  after  a  moment :  "  I  don't  know  much  about 
the  Bible ;  I  ain't  had  no  chance  to  learn.  My 
mother  died  when  I  was  a  little  thing,  and  I  begun 
to  live  out  before  I  could  talk  plain.  So  them 
kind  of  things  ain't  for  me." 


CHAPTER    V. 

THEY    APPALL    HER. 

THEN  she  leaned  forward,  with  a  half  sigh, 
and  began  to  brush  the  hearth  vigorously. 
Chrissy  looked  at  her,  with  an  unutterable  pity 
swelling  in  her  heart.  What  had  the  girl  included 
in  "them  things"  which  were  not  for  her,  sweep 
ing  them  away  as  carelessly  as  she  was  doing 
with  the  ashes  ?  All  the  glorious  possibilities  of 
life  —  character,  and  influence,  and  love,  and 
Jesus,  and  heaven  !  Oh,  the  pity  of  it !  Yet  she 
had  not  been  touched.  The  speaker's  words, 
though  intended  in  utmost  simplicity,  had  been 
away  beyond  her  range.  The  thought  of  it  being 
possible  for  the  Lord  to  delight  in  her  had  not 
reached  the  outermost  circle  of  her  thoughts ; 
nay,  she  was  lower  down  than  that.  Her  con 
ception  of  God  was  not  such  that  the  thought  of 
the  bare  possibility  of  any  human  being  reaching 
so  high  thrilled  her.  Mrs.  Holmes  tried  again. 
"Happy,"  she  said,  with  an  earnestness  which 
54 


THEY    APPALL    HER.  55 

arrested  the  brush  once  more,  "  I  wish  you 
would  enter  into  an  agreement  with  me.  Let  us 
be  friends  —  you  and  me.  Do  you  not  think  you 
would  like  me  for  a  friend  ?  What  if  you  should 
take  a  new  start  in  life  this  very  day,  and  make 
a  happiness  for  yourself  which  no  one  can  take 
from  you  ? " 

Happy  giggled.  "  I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what 
you  are  talking  about,"  she  said.  "If  I  was 
going  to  set  out  to  be  happy,  the  very  first  thing 
I'd  have  to  do  would  be  to  run  away  from  this 
house.  I'm  scolded,  Mis'  Holmes,  from  morning 
till  night.  There's  nothing  that  I  do,  or  don't  do, 
for  Mis'  Stetson,  but  she  will  scold  about  it.  I'm 
necessary  to  her  happiness,  I  do  believe,  because 
I  don't  think  she  could  live  unless  she  had  Liph 
and  me  to  scold." 

There  was  a  hidden  fund  of  humor  somewhere 
about  Happy.  Her  eyes  gleamed  roguishly  for  a 
moment  as  she  said  this.  Then,  apparently 
attempting  to  assume  a  gravity  which  would 
become  the  occasion,  she  added:  "No,  Mis' 
Holmes,  I'm  sure  it's  real  nice  of  you  to  think  of  a 
girl  like  me,  and  want  things  to  fit ;  but  it  ain't 
no  use.  Some  time  or  other  I'm  going  to  get  out 
of  all  this,  and  have  a  house  of  my  own,  and  have 
lots  of  things  that  I  ain't  got  now.  I  expect  to 
be  pretty  happy  thenj  and  I  guess  I'll  have  to 
wait  till  then." 


56  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"No,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  earnestly.  "Mark 
my  words,  if  you  wait  until  then,  the  happiness 
will  not  come.  Do  you  not  like  to  surprise  peo 
ple?  What  if  you  should  surprise  Mrs.  Stetson, 
for  instance,  by  doing  all  your  work  so  nicely  that 
she  could  not  discover  any  thing  to  scold  about  ? 
Have  you  any. idea  how  it  would  make  her  feel?" 

This  at  least,  was  in  a  line  with  Happy's  under 
standing,  and  she  giggled  afresh.  "I  never 
could,"  she  said,  confidently.  "You  ain't  as  well 
acquainted  with  that  woman  as  I  be;  she'll  scold, 
anyhow." 

"  Ah  !  but  did  you  ever  try  it  ?  Are  you  really 
very  careful  to  do  your  work  just  as  well  as  you 
can  ?  Those  ashes,  for  instance ;  have  you  been 
just  as  neat  and  as  quick  about  them  as  you  could 
be?" 

This  time  there  was  a  little  shamefacedness 
with  the  laugh.  "I  don't  suppose  I  have,"  she 
said;  "and  I  know  I  ain't  quick,  nor  over  and 
above  neat ;  but,  after  all,  what's  the  use  in  being 
so  dreadful  particular  ?  I  hate  all  kinds  of  house 
work,  anyhow,"  she  added,  in  a  burst  of  confi 
dence,  and  with  an  air  which  said  that  such  a 
revelation  ought  to  cover  a  multitude  of  sins. 

"  That  isn't  of  the  least  consequence,"  said 
Mrs.  Holmes,  calmly.  "  I  may  hate  to  make  this 
bed,  which  I  have  been  puttjng  in  such  order  for 
the  day,  but  it  does  not  alter  the  fact  that  it  is 


THEY    APPALL    HER.  57 

my  duty  to  make  it  just  as  neat  and  inviting-look 
ing  as  possible ;  and  if  I  fail  in  it,  there  is  very 
little  use  in  my  trying  to  find  satisfaction  in  some 
thing  else.  I  have  taught  myself  not  to  be  satis 
fied  until  I  have  done  my  best.  I  am  very  much 
interested  in  you,  Happy  —  so  much  that  I  hope 
you  will  please  me  by  adopting  my  rule,  just  for 
to-day  and  letting  me  know  how  it  works.  Will 
you  not  ? " 

Happy  hesitated,  blushed  and  laughed.  "Why, 
I  don't  know,  ma'am,"  she  said  at  last.  "It  seems 
dreadful  queer !  Let  me  see.  What  was  it?" 

"  Oh,  it  is  a  very  simple  rule  to  repeat,  but  not 
so  easy  to  work  by.  It  is  simply  doing  every 
thing  which  you  have  to  do,  just  as  well  as  you 
can." 

"Well,"  said  Happy,  reflectively,  "it's  Satur 
day.  That's  the  meanest  day  in  the  whole  lot, 
because  there's  scrubbing  the  halls  and  stairs,  and 
I  hate  scrubbing.  Then  there's  the  table  to  set, 
and  the  lamps  to  fill  and  trim  (I  do  just  despise 
lamps),  and  the  potatoes  to  get  ready.  My ! 
there's  a  lot  of  hateful  things  to  do ;  but  I  don't 
mind  trying  to  do  the  best  I  can,  just  to  please 
you,  only  it  won't  do  no  good.  She  will  scold 
on  all  the  same,  and  nobody  will  know  the 
difference." 

"  Yes,  there  will.  I  shall  look  at  the  stairs,  as 
I  go  up  and  down,  and  I  shall  say:  'Ah!  how 


58  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

clean  they  are !  It  is  a  pleasure  to  walk  over 
them.'  And  I  shall  notice  whether  the  table-cloth 
is  laid  straight  and  smooth,  and  whether  the 
knives  and  forks  are  laid  neatly,  or  look  as  though 
they  had  been  thrown  on.  As  for  the  potatoes, 
if  they  had  neither  eyes  nor  lumps  in  them,  it 
would  be  a  real  comfort  to  me." 

"Would  it  now?"  asked  Happy,  with  a  gleam 
of  interest  in  her  eyes;  "well,  then,  I  declare  if  I 
won't  try  at  it,  just  for  fun  ! " 

"And,  Happy,  there  is  a  thought  which  you 
have  left  out.  Do  you  not  know  that  One,  of 
much  more  importance  than  I,  will  be  glad  if  you 
do  your  work  faithfully  to-day?" 

"Land!  Mis'  Holmes,  I  don't  see  why  he  will 
care;  he  don't  eat  nothing  which  I  touch;  you 
wipe  the  plate  and  glass  that  you  take  his  things 
in  with  your  own  napkin  —  I've  seen  you.  I 
think  you  are  too  dreadful  nice  to  him  for  any 
thing!  I  should  just  think  he'd  like  to  be  sick, 
to  be  took  care  of  so." 

It  was  a  question  with  Mrs.  Holmes  whether  to 
laugh  or  cry ;  her  efforts  at  helping  seemed  to  fall 
so  far  short  of  her  hopes  and  plans. 

"I  did  not  mean  Mr.  Holmes,"  she  said,  gently, 
after  a  moment's  thought;  "though  it  is  quite 
true  that  he  would  be  glad  to  hear  of  your  doing 
right ;  I  was  thinking  of  the  great  God.  It  is  a 
wonderful  thought,  but  nevertheless  it  is  true, 


THEY    APPALL    HER.  59 

that  he  has  such  constant  and  patient  care  over 
his  creatures,  as  to  be  glad  at  any  effort  upon 
their  part  toward  right-doing.  Did  you  ever 
think  of  that?" 

"No,  ma'am,"  said  Happy,  awed  at  last,  "I 
never  did.  Mis'  Holmes,  you  can't  mean  that  He 
cares  whether  I  leave  dirt  in  the  corner  or  not ! " 

"  I  do  certainly  mean,  my  dear  girl,  that  you  can 
not  do  even  so  small  a  bit  of  work  as  that  with 
out  having  the  eye  of  God  upon  you,  and  without 
his  approving  knowledge  if  you  are  faithful." 

It  was  very  strong  meat  for  Happy.  Her  con 
ception  of  God  would  have  startled  and  dismayed 
Mrs.  Holmes.  The  two  surveyed  each  other  in 
silence  for  a  moment,  each  busy  with  her  own 
somewhat  bewildered  thoughts.  The  shrill  voice 
of  Mrs.  Stetson  was  heard  in  the  distance,  calling 
to  the  girl,  who  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  nod 
ded  significantly  as  if  to  say:  "I  told  you  so. 
You  can  tell  by  the  sound  of  her  voice  the  humor 
she  is  in." 

"  Well,"  she  said,  preparing  to  move,  "  I'll  try 
it  anyhow,  every  time  I  can  think  of  it  this  day; 
but  I  know  as  well  as  not  that  it  won't  come  to 
nothing." 

"  It  is  as  strong  a  degree  of  faith  as  many  a 
Christian  gets  up  for  special  efforts,"  Mr.  Holmes 
said,  when  his  wife  with  many  merry  touches  to 
lighten  the  sense  of  pain  in  it  all,  told  the  story 


6O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

over  to  him.  "It  is  only  expressed  in  a  little 
bolder  language  than  we  are  in  the  habit  of  using. 
Have  you  not  often  been  startled  to  discover  that 
the  plain  English  of  your  resolves  meant,  '  I  will 
undertake  it,  work  at  it  for  awhile,  and  see  if  the 
Lord  really  means  what  he  says'?  Chrissy,  have 
you  ever  noticed  that  half-grown  man,  or  over 
grown  boy,  I  hardly  know  which,  who  haunts 
the  corner  across  the  way  ?  There  is  something 
peculiar  about  his  face ;  it  cannot  be  said  to  be 
attractive ;  on  the  contrary,  one  almost  feels  repul 
sion  ;  yet  I  find  myself  looking  at  it,  and  wonder 
ing  about  its  owner.  I  am  afraid  nobody  is 
making  the  slightest  effort  to  save  him  from  the 
destruction  which  is  almost  inevitable." 

"That,"  said  Chrissy,  with  a  gravity  which 
her  husband  supposed  was  born  of  the  present 
moment,  "is  Liph  Stetson." 

"  Our  landlady's  son  ?  Impossible !  Why,  I 
thought  he  was  a  little  fellow." 

"We  imagined  that  from  her  way  of  speaking 
to  him  ;  but  it  is  not  so,  and  he  is  already  far 
down  the  road  which  you  fear  he  is  traveling. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  undone  work  in  the  world, 
Stuart." 

While  waiting  for  further  opportunities  Mrs. 
Holmes  resolved  not  to  forget  the  stairs.  She 
gave  them  careful  attention  as  she  went  down  to 
dinner.  They  certainly  presented  a  better  appear- 


THEY    APPALL    HER.  6 I 

ance  than  they  had  since  she  came  into  the  house. 
There  was  still  room  for  improvement,  but  an 
advance  had  been  made.  Slight  as  it  was,  it 
cheered  Mrs.  Holmes'  heart  to  a  degree  that 
surprised  herself.  Had  her  hopes  really  taken 
such  hold  upon  Happy  ? 

The  dinner  table,  also,  was  given  a  surveillance 
which  a  due  regard  to  her  own  peace  of  mind  had 
held  her  from,  heretofore.  Each  knife  and  fork 
was  laid  with  the  precision  of  a  mathematical  line, 
and  the  handles  were  not  "sticky."  Inviting,  the 
table  certainly  was  not ;  poor  Happy  evidently 
did  not  know  how  to  make  it  so ;  but  that  she  had 
made  actual  effort  in  that  direction  was  appar 
ent.  Certain  telegraphic  communications  passed 
between  the  two,  while  Happy,  in  a  somewhat 
cleaner  dress,  still  much  too  "smart"  for  the 
place,  and  with  a  ribbon  about  the  neck  brighter 
in  hue  and  less  soiled  than  she  had  worn  in  the 
morning,  waited  upon  the  table.  An  expressive 
glance  from  Mrs.  Holmes'  eyes  from  her  to  the 
table  and  back  again,  made  her  flush  with  pleas 
ure,  giggle  a  little,  and  spill  the  water  which  she 
was  pouring  into  Mr.  Arson's  glass.  The  further 
result  of  this  was  an  undertone  passage  of  words 
between  those  two,  not  a  sentence  of  which  Mrs. 
Holmes  could  catch  ;  yet  the  bantering  tones  and 
loose  familiarity  upon  the  part  of  both  gave  her 
infinite  anxiety.  She  knew  enough  of  this  evil 


62  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

world  to  be  sure  that  there  were  more  dangerous 
thoughts  for  a  girl  like  Happy  than  those  sug 
gested  by  dime  novels  or  pink  silk  dresses.  She 
knew  enough  already  about  the  girl  to  be  sure 
that  she  would  be  an  easy  victim  to  certain  forms 
of  temptation ;  notably  those  which  had  to  do 
with  dress  and  so-called  pleasure.  As  for  Mr. 
Arson,  he  was  a  young  man  with  sandy  mous 
tache  and  eyebrows,  who  wore  very  fancy  neck 
ties,  and  had  a  general  air  about  him  which  Mrs. 
Holmes  translated  to  her  husband  as  "jaunty." 

"If  he  should  speak  in  that  tone  to  my  sister 
Faye,"  she  told  herself,  her  heart  throbbing  indig 
nantly  the  while,  "I  would  not  endure  it." 

"But  he  would  not  speak  so  to  Faye,"  was 
the  after-thought,  which  immediately  demanded 
to  be  analyzed.  Why  would  he  not  ?  Because 
Faye  would  be  differently  circumstanced,  would 
wear  better  clothes  and  know  how  to  wear  them, 
and  would  be  waited  upon,  instead  of  serving. 
Well,  was  it  then  to  be  admitted  that  the  acci 
dent  of  what  one  wore,  and  the  position  one  occu 
pied  in  the  dining-room,  marked  the  line  between 
respectability  and —  the  other  thing?  Was  a  girl 
who  did  not  know  how  to  dress  herself,  and  who 
was  obliged  to  serve,  at  the  mercy  of  any  fast 
young  man  who  chose  to  address  her  familiarly  ? 

These  were  some  of  the  indignant  thoughts 
which  floated  through  Mrs.  Holmes'  mind.  She 


THEY    APPALL    HER.  63 

could  not  be  said  to  be  considering  them;  they 
did  not  take  definite  shape  enough  for  that ;  and 
she  was  aware  that  there  was  a  marked  difference 
between  the  neatly-clothed,  self-respecting  girl 
who  served,  and  this  tawdry,  ignorant  simpleton ; 
nevertheless,  her  sense  of  decency  resented  the 
thought  that  the  simpleton  should  be  in  danger. 
Her  mind  once  roused  to  the  question,  she 
recalled  the  fact  that  there  had  often  been  low- 
toned,  jesting  words  between  these  two,  and 
shy  glances,  and  almost  winks,  which  would  indi 
cate  that  there  was  some  sort  of  understanding 
between  them. 

All  things  considered,  she  succeeded  in  work 
ing  herself  into  a  degree  of  anxiety  about  Happy 
which  would  have  bewildered  that  young  person. 

An  anxiety  not  lessened  by  an  episode  which 
occurred  that  evening.  She  was  standing  on  her 
upper  piazza,  shielded  from  view  by  the  vines  and 
the  darkness.  Her  husband  had  retired,  and  she, 
after  making  last  arrangements  for  the  night,  had 
come  out  to  the  strangeness  of  balmy  December 
air  to  get  a  few  breaths  of  sweetness,  and  wonder 
at  the  contrast  between  this  and  the  Decembers 
of  her  past.  Suddenly,  mingling  with  the  odor  of 
pines  and  roses,  there  floated  up  to  her  the  sound 
of  voices. 

"  Now  that  I  have  brought  you  safely  home,  I 
think  you  might  give  a  fellow  a  good-night  kiss." 


64  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

An  unmistakable  little  giggle  responded ;  then, 
in  a  voice  which  could  only  be  Happy's  : 

"I  sha'n't  do  any  such  thing;  you  needn't  to 
have  brought  me  home;  I  knew  the  way." 

"You  are  very  cruel.  What  harm  could  it  do 
to  reward  me  after  I  tore  myself  away  from  the 
news-room  on  purpose  to  take  a  walk  with  you  ? 
I'll  tell  you  what  is  the  matter.  You  are  afraid  of 
that  severe-eyed  woman  who  sits  opposite  me.  I 
saw  her  looking  at  you  and  making  motions  of 
some  sort  this  afternoon.  If  she  sets  you  against 
me,  I  shall  hate  her;  remember  that." 

More  giggling. 

"You  are  too  funny  for  any  thing!  What  do 
you  suppose  Mis'  Holmes  knows  about  you  ? 
She  ain't  never  spoke  a  word  about  you.  What 
she  said  was  about  something  else,  and  wasn't  like 
your  kind  of  talk  at  all." 

"  I  presume  likely.  What  has  she  been  saying 
to  you?  I  wish  she  would  let  you  alone;  I  don't 
want  you  spoiled.  Come  now,  tell  me  just  what 
she  said.  I  know  it  was  something  about  me, 
because  you  were  in  such  a  hurry  to  deny  it." 

"  It  wasn't  either,  and  I  sha'n't  tell  you  a 
word  she  said ;  it  was  a  secret  between  her  and 
me." 

The  denials  were  prompt  enough,  but  the  tone 
said,  as  plainly  as  words  could,  that  poor,  silly 
Happy  was  flattered  by  her  companion's  evident 


THEY    APPALL    HER.  65 

desire  to  know  about  her  affairs,  and  that  she  was 
excessively  amused  by  the  entire  interview. 

"A  secret!"  repeated  the  man,  whom  Chrissy 
had  some  time  before  decided  was  Mr.  Arson. 
"Who  would  have  supposed  that  you  would  have 
begun  already  to  have  secrets  which  you  will  not 
confide  to  me !  That  shows  the  utter  cruelty  of 
a  woman's  heart,  especially  a  young  woman's. 
Now,  you  really  will  have  to  give  me  a  kiss  to 
atone  for  this." 

A  sort  of  struggle  ensued,  to  judge  by  the 
sound,  mingled  with  much  half-stifled  laughter  on 
the  part  of  the  girl,  in  the  midst  of  which  the 
listener  on  the  piazza  fled  in  dismay  and  almost  in 
despair.  What  had  she  taken  hold  of  ?  What 
horrid  possibilities  it  involved,  and  how  was  she 
ever  to  accomplish  results  ?  Yet  certainly  she 
must  not  stand  still  and  see  that  miserable  girl 
ruined  before  her  eyes  !  If  only  Stuart  were  well ! 
It  was  the  refrain  which  in  these  days  closed  all 
her  perplexities. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SHE    HOLDS    A    MEETING. 

NOT  even  yet  were  the  experiences  of  the  day 
concluded.  The  water  in  Mrs.  Holmes' 
pitcher  was  low.  It  was  one  of  Happy's  many 
forgetfulnesscs,  this  almost  empty  pitcher.  If 
Stuart  should  have  a  restless  night,  and  need  a 
drink  of  water  frequently,  as  he  did  sometimes, 
there  would  not  be  enough.  She  resolved  upon 
going  herself  in  search  of  a  fresh  supply. 

The  back  part  of  the  house  was  deserted  and 
dark ;  Happy  had  by  this  time  vanished  into  the 
far-off  regions  of  the  third  story,  and  Mrs. 
Holmes,  slowly  feeling  her  way  through  the 
comparatively  unknown  passage,  nearly  stumbled 
against  a  dark  object  which  was  moving  along 
from  the  other  direction.  Stifling  the  inclination 
to  scream,  she  had  decided  who  the  intruder  must 
be  before  he  had  drawled  out : 

"You  needn't  be  scairt ;  it  is  only  me." 
"And   this   is   'only   me,'    Mrs.    Holmes,"  said 
66 


SHE    HOLDS    A    MEETING.  67 

that  lady,  with  a  little  laugh;  "you  are  Mrs. 
Stetson's  son,  I  think.  Could  you  help  me  to 
fill  this  pitcher  with  fresh  water?  Happy  has 
forgotten  it." 

"She's  good  at  that,"  the  boy  said,  grimly; 
"better  at  it  than  anything  else.  I  don't  know 
why  ma  don't  git  rid  of  her;  she's  a  noosance." 

Several  times  had.  Mrs.  Holmes  tried  vaguely 
to  plan  what  she  should  say  to  Liph  Stetson,  in 
case  opportunity  should  be  given  her  to  speak  to 
him ;  certainly  she  had  never  planned  that  the 
conversation  should  take  the  shape  which  it  now 
did. 

"Do  you  know  who  it  was  with  Happy  on  the 
side  piazza  a  moment  ago?"  she  asked,  with  a 
sudden  hope  that  she  might  have  been  deceived, 
and  the  man  would  prove  to  be  an  honest  admirer 
of  the  silly  girl,  with  possibly  a  right  even  to 
sue  for  the  sort  of  good-night  which  he  had 
demanded. 

"Yaas,"  said  Liph,  "that  was  Nick  Arson;  he 
boards  here ;  he  is  makin'  believe  to  be  mighty 
sweet  on  Happy  just  now." 

Mrs.  Holmes  controlled  any  outward  exhibition 
of  the  utter  repulsion  with  which  she  shrank  from 
such  coarseness,  and  merely  questioned  meekly : 

"What  kind  of  a  man  is  this  Mr.  Arson?" 

"Oh,  he's  a  clerk  in  a  store  here.  I  don't 
know  much  about  him;  he's  quality,  you  see." 


68  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"Liph,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  looking  full  at  the 
boy  by  the  light  of  a  smoky  kerosene  lamp  which 
he  had  produced  from  somewhere,  "is  he  the  kind 
of  man  with  whom  you  would  like  to  have  your 
young  sister  stand  and  talk,  if  you  had  a  sister? " 

"Well,  he  just  isn't!  You  can  bet  your  life  on 
it,"  said  Liph,  with  sudden  energy,  pumping 
fiercely  while  he  spoke. 

"Then,  why  do  you  not  try  to  influence  Happy 
not  to  place  herself  in  such  danger?  It  is  true 
she  is  not  your  sister,  but  God  made  you  both,  and 
will  hold  you  responsible  for  the  influence  which 
you  ought  to  exert  over  each  other." 

Liph  held  the  arm  of  the  pump  aloft,  and 
stared  in  the  most  profound  astonishment.  It 
seemed  doubtful  whether  he  could  believe  his 
ears ;  it  was  so  amazing  a  thing  to  hear  such 
words  addressed  to  him. 

"Me!"  he  said  at  last,  with  explosive  energy. 
"What  fool  kind  of  talk  is  that?  Have  you  any 
notion  in  life  that  she  would  pay  any  attention 
to  what  I  say  ?  And  what  do  I  care  about  her, 
anyhow  ? " 

Over  the  first  part  of  this  sentence  Mrs. 
Holmes  reflected.  Certainly  nothing  seemed  less 
probaolc  than  that  Happy  would  pay  the  slightest 
attention  to  the  opinions  of  this  young  wreck  of 
humanity ;  low  in  the  scale  of  civilization  as  she 
was,  she  would  be  sure  to  put  herself  infinitely 


SHE    HOLDS    A    MEETING.  69 

above  Liph  Stetson,  and  the  looker-on  was  obliged 
to  confess  that  she  was  correct  in  her  estimate. 
However  ignorant  Happy  might  be,  she  had  at 
least  kept  what  little  sense  she  had  unclouded 
by  the  fumes  of  tobacco  or  alcohol,  and  Liph's 
breath  suggested  both.  But  this  was  not  the  con 
clusion  to  make  apparent  to  him. 

"The  point  is  not  what  you  care  about  her, 
but  what  you  ought  to  be  able  to  do  for  her.  Do 
you  not  know  that  a  young  motherless  girl  in 
your  mother's  house  ought  to  be  able  to  look  to 
you  for  protection  from  outside  dangers,  for  advice 
as  to  what  is,  and  what  is  not,  wise  for  her  to  do  ? 
And  for  a  dozen  other  kindnesses,  such  as  a  self- 
respecting  young  man  can  offer  to  a  friendless 
girl  under  his  mother's  protection  ?  " 

Liph's  face  was  a  study.  There  were  times 
when  he  did  not  know  whether  to  burst  into  a  vol 
ley  of  angry  oaths,  or  to  sneer  or  to  laugh  over 
such  tremendous  words  spoken  to  him. 

He  was  a  "self-respecting"  young  man!  Who 
had  imagined  for  a  moment  that  such  words 
applied  to  him  ?  Happy  under  his  mother's  pro 
tection  !  Happy  was  his  mother's  drudge;  ill- 
paid,  ill-treated,  and  yet  deserving,  in  his  opinion, 
nothing  more  than  she  received.  Happy  paying 
the  slightest  attention  to  his  advice,  supposing  for 
the  moment  he  was  fool  enough  to  offer  her  any  ! 

"That  beats  all  the  talk  I  ever  heard ! "  he  said 


7<D  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

sullenly,  filling  the  pitcher,  and  pouring  a  gener 
ous  quantity  of  the  liquid  on  the  floor  at  the  same 
time;  "you've  got  hold  of  the  wrong  fellow;  I 
ain't  one  of  them  kind,  and  never  was.  Happy 
ain't  nothing  to  me,  and  if  she  was  I  couldn't  help 
it.  I've  gone  to  ruin  myself;  if  you  don't  believe 
it,  ask  ma,"  and  for  a  moment  a  savage  leer 
spread  over  his  face.  "Nick  Arson  is  a  gentle 
man.  He  goes  with  the  style  girls  in  this  town. 
Ma  is  always  pointing  him  out  to  me  as  an  exam 
ple.  But  it  is  true  enough  for  all  that,  that  if  I 
had  a  sister  and  cared  any  thing  for  her,  I'd  lock 
her  up  in  the  meanest  shed  in  this  town,  and 
keep  her  there,  before  I'd  let  her  go  around  with 
him.  But  she  ain't  my  sister,  and  I  ain't  nobody, 
and  that's  all  there  is  of  it.  There's  your  pitcher 
of  water." 

He  did  not  add,  "Take  it  and  be  off"  —at  least, 
not  in  words,  but  he  turned  away,  and  was  sham 
bling  out  of  sight  when  Mrs.  Holmes  found  voice 
again. 

"  Liph,  wait  a  moment ;  I  want  to  say  one  more 
word  to  you.  It  is  very  easy  for  you  to  stand 
there  and  tell  me  that  Happy  is  nothing  to  you, 
and  that  you  have  gone  to  ruin,  and  all  that  sort 
of  thing;  but  I  believe  you  know,  in  spite  of  what 
you  have  said,  that  you  are  responsible  in  the 
sight  of  God.  If  Happy  should  lose  her  soul, 
because  you  did  not  try  to  save  her,  it  will  not 


SHE    HOLDS    A    MEETING.  /I 

help  you  in  the  least  to  remember  that  you  have 
lost  your  own.  If,  as  you  say,  you  are  on  the 
road  to  ruin,  the  more  shame  to  you ;  a  young 
man  has  no  right  to  go  to  ruin.  A  hundred  times 
over,  the  only  son  of  his  mother,  and  she  a  widow, 
has  no  right  to  ruin  his  life  and  hers.  I  don't 
know  that  anybody  ever  spoke  such  words  to 
you  before  ;  but  I  cannot  help  it,  they  ought  to 
be  said.  It  is  folly  for  you  to  imagine  that 
because  you  own  yourself  worthless,  and  without 
influence  over  those  whom  you  ought  to  be  able 
to  influence,  therefore  you  are  free  from  respon 
sibility.  If  you  were  going  to  ruin  and  did  not 
know  it,  it  would  be  pitiful  enough,  but  not  so 
solemn  as  to  move  right  along  on  the  same  path 
with  your  eyes  open." 

She  was  amazed  at  her  words.  Thinking  them 
over  afterward,  they  did  not  seem  to  be  the  ones 
she  ought  to  have  said  to  him.  She  could  not 
help  feeling  that  many  of  them  were  above  his 
comprehension,  and  that  some  phrases  were,  per 
haps,  too  like  the  ones  which  his  mother  so  con 
stantly  flung  at  him  to  be  productive  of  any  good. 
Yet  her  tone  and  manner  had  been  most  unlike 
his  mother's.  She  had  spoken  low,  and  with  slow 
and  solemn  emphasis.  She  had  longed  to  make 
him  think.  He  had  stood  still  and  looked  at  her 
in  a  kind  of  stupid  wonderment.  He  still  stood, 
after  she  had  traversed  the  long  passage  with  her 


72  HEk    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

heavy  pitcher,  and  glanced  back  at  him ;  stood 
just  where  she  had  left  him,  like  one  dazed. 
On  the  whole,  responsibilities  seemed  thickening 
around  the  young  woman  who  had  meant  to  fold 
her  hands  so  resolutely,  and  wait.  She  set  her 
pitcher  down  softly,  so  as  not  to  waken  the 
sleeper,  and  went  out  on  the  piazza,  in  the  star 
light  again.  Liph  and  his  mother,  and  Happy, 
and  Nick  Arson,  and  Mrs.  Carpenter  and  her  hus 
band —  what  a  world!  Six  such  people  to  loom 
up  before  her  mental  horizon  but  the  day  after 
she  had  declared  on  paper  that  she  knew  no  one, 
and  meant  to  know  no  one,  in  this  portion  of  the 
earth.  "  God's  earth,"  she  said  to  herself  softly, 
"and  'lost  souls,'  as  Stuart  said.  Can  it  be  pos 
sible  that  my  Father  means  me  to  save  them  ? 
He  must  certainly  mean  me  to  try.  But  what 
can  I  do  ?  " 

Out  there  in  the  night  and  the  loneliness,  the 
work  looked  almost  hopeless,  the  cases  desperate ; 
but  Stuart's  philosophy  in  regard  to  it  surprised 
her  a  little. 

"My  dear,  what  can  you  expect?"  he  asked 
coolly,  when  she  told  him  with  a  horrified  face 
about  the  sentences  she  had  overheard  between 
Mr.  Arson  and  Happy.  "  For  the  man,  I  grant 
you,  it  is  despicable  enough ;  he  is  undoubtedly 
what  that  precious  youth,  Liph,  considers  him,  but 
poor  Happy  may  be  as  innocent  as  many  another 


SHE    HOLDS    A     MEETING.  73 

silly  victim  often  is.  You  say  her  mother  died 
when  she  was  a  child,  and  it  is  evident  that  she 
has  had  no  bringing  up,  save  that  which  Mrs.  Stet 
son  and  dime  novels  have  given  her.  I  think  it 
quite  probable  that  she  supposes  all  fine  ladies 
are  treated  by  fine  gentlemen  precisely  as  Arson 
tried  to  treat  her.  You  think  her  instinctive 
sense  of  delicacy  ought  to  have  come  to  her 
aid.  It  did  somewhat,  it  seems,  or  there  would 
have  been  no  resistance,  unless,  indeed,  the 
show  of  resistance  is  a  part  of  the  dime  novel 
education. 

"What  I  mean,  Chrissy,  dear,"  he  said,  stop 
ping  with  a  half-laugh  at  her  horrified  face,  and 
then  beginning  again,  "what  I  am  trying  to  do  is 
simply  to  reassure  you.  Happy  is  not  utterly 
depraved  and  hopeless  because  she  is  ignorant  of 
the  commonest  proprieties  of  life.  What  would 
be  almost  hopeless  if  permitted  by  a  young  woman 
trained  as  you  have  been,  becomes  another  matter 
when  a  poor  girl  of  that  sort  is  under  consider 
ation.  In  other  words,  dear  wife,  while  there  is 
but  one  standard  of  right,  there  are  many  grades 
of  sin,  and  the  environments  and  opportunities 
of  the  sinning  soul  will  undoubtedly  be  taken  into 
account.  Do  not  be  utterly  cast  down  over  poor 
Happy  because  she  does  not  know  how  to  conduct 
herself  in  the  presence  of  a  so-called  gentleman  ; 
there  is  a  sense  in  which  it  is  not  any  stranger 


74  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

than  that  she  does  not  know  how  to  order  her 
hair  or  her  dress." 

I  do  not  think  it  can  really  be  said  that  our 
young  endeavorer  was  glad  that  Mrs.  Carpenter 
fell  sick,  but  inasmuch  as  such  was  the  case  she 
did  rejoice  over  the  opportunity  which  it  gave  her. 
The  more  she  thought  about  that  sad  woman's 
life,  the  more  sure  she  felt  that  there  was  a  pent- 
up  bitterness  of  some  sort  which  it  would  help  her 
to  have  uncovered. 

"She  is  rebellious  over  something,"  was  the 
thought  which  always  closed  Mrs.  Holmes'  talks 
with  her  husband  upon  this  subject.  "There  is 
a  hidden  wound  which  gnaws  all  the  time  at  her 
life.  If  I  could  only  find  her  heart,  perhaps  I 
could  help  her." 

So  I  think  she  heard  with  even  a  little  sense 
of  relief  that  Mrs.  Carpenter  was  sick  in  bed, 
and  could  not  "do"  her  clothes  that  week. 

"I  am  going  to  see  her,"  she  said  promptly  to 
Stuart.  "  It  helps  me  to  think  that  she  will  not 
be  ironing.  I  have  associated  her  so  entirely  with 
the  swift  passes  of  that  inevitable  iron  that  it 
some  way  haunts  me  like  an  ugly  black  weight 
which  is  a  part  of  her.  To  think  of  her  as  in 
bed,  weak  and  helpless,  seems  to  humanize  her." 

"What  sort  of  a  bed  has  she  to  lie  on?"  her 
husband  asked,  with  an  expressive  shrug  of  his 
shoulders,  and  added:  "The  beds  of  the  poor 


SHE    HOLDS    A    MEETING.  75 

always  impress  me  as  almost  the  bitterest  drop 
in  their  cup  of  poverty  ;  worse  than  the  eating." 

"The  bed  will  be  clean,"  said  Chrissy;  "for 
the  rest  I  cannot  answer." 

It  was  this  thought  which  made  her  add  to  her 
basket  of  supplies  a  down  pillow  in  its  delicate, 
frilled  whiteness,  and  a  bottle  of  lavender  water 
surrounded  by  fine  old  linen  handkerchiefs.  She 
could  not  imagine  herself  as  daring  to  offer  to 
bathe  that  set  white  face ;  but  if  headache  were 
an  accompaniment,  it  might  be  possible  to  accom 
plish  so  much  in  the  way  of  soothing. 

The  doctor  set  her  down  at  the  door,  lifting  out 
her  basket  for  her,  and  carrying  it  to  the  top  step 
of  the  small  piazza,  with  a  whimsical  look  on  his 
handsome  young  face,  as  he  said:  "The  good 
Samaritan  going  in  search  of  a  sorely  wounded 
creature  who,  if  I  mistake  not,  will  nevertheless 
refuse  the  mollifying  ointment,  and  insist  upon 
suffering  in  grim  solitude.  I  know  something  of 
this  protfgt  of  yours,  Mrs.  Holmes.  I  consider 
her  as  hopeless  a  case  as  we  have  in  this  little 
city ;  and  that  is  saying  a  good  deal." 

She  turned  toward  him  eagerly.  "You  know 
her  ?  Then  tell  me  what  it  is  which  has  so  dead 
ened  her  life.  Is  it  only  because  she  has  a  miser 
able,  worthless  husband  ?  " 

"Oh,  no,"  he  said,  mockingly;  "that  is  the 
merest  trifle,  of  course,  not  worthy  of  a  sensible 


/  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

woman's  consideration.  I  am  surprised  that  you 
should  have  thought  of  such  a  thing  ;  it  is  some 
thing  much  worse  than  that." 

Mrs.  Holmes  laughed  a  little  and  blushed,  as 
she  answered:  "I  deserve  your  sarcasm,  doctor, 
for  using  the  word  '  only '  in  such  a  connection. 
It  must  have  seemed  very  strange  to  you.  Still, 
with  explanations,  I  mean  it.  Given  even  such 
a  sorrow,  if  there  is  no  self-reproach  connected 
with  it,  I  can  conceive  of  a  woman  enduring  and 
suffering,  yet  hoping  and  praying  every  hour ; 
and  keeping  her  heart  from  hardening,  though 
it  may  almost  break ;  but  this  woman  seems  to 
me  to  have  turned  to  stone." 

Dr.  Portland  laid  aside  his  mocking  tone  and 
regarded  her  with  respect.  "I  can  conceive  of 
such  women,  too,"  he  said;  "but  Mrs.  Carpenter 
is  not  one  of  them.  I  do  not  think  she  prays 
any  oftener  than  I  do  myself.  I  doubt  whether 
she  would  know  how,  any  better  than  I  should. 
Oh,  I  know  very  little  about  her ;  nothing  at  all 
of  her  past.  Her  poor  wretch  of  a  husband  called 
me,  once,  when  she  was  suffering,  and  I  did  what 
I  could  for  her,  and  offended  her,  I  think ;  at 
least  she  will  not  see  me  now,  though  a  neighbor 
tried  to  persuade  her  into  it  last  night.  Her  hus 
band  is  a  miserable  scamp ;  but,  tucked  in  some 
where  behind  the  rags  and  tobacco  juice,  he  has 
a  remnant  of  a  heart ;  and  really,  of  the  two  lives, 


SHE    HOLDS    A    MEETING.  77 

I  should  be  almost  as  willing  to  stand  my  chances 
beside  him  as  her.  These  stone  women  are 
harder  to  manage  than  any  other.  But  I  must 
not  prejudice  you." 

During  this  conversation  they  had  been  stand 
ing,  waiting  for  Mrs.  Holmes'  gentle  knock  to  be 
answered.  Mr.  Holmes,  whom  the  doctor  was 
taking  with  him  for  a  ride  into  the  country,  was 
sitting  back  among  the  cushions  of  the  carriage, 
reins  in  hand.  His  wife  glanced  toward  him 
anxiously ;  this  long  waiting  must  be  wearying  to 
him. 

"It  cannot  be  there  is  any  one  with  her,"  she 
said,  "and  she  may  be  asleep.  Would  you  go  in, 
without  further  ceremony?" 

"I  certainly  should.  After  putting  your  hand 
to  so  trying  a  plow  as  this,  it  will  not  do  to  draw 
back.  I  will  take  good  care  of  your  husband,  and 
bring  him  home  in  a  state  to  appreciate  your  good 
offices  as  nurse,  since  you  will  probably  fail  of  that 
part  here." 

And  with  a  gay,  mocking  smile,  he  lifted  his 
hat  and  left  her. 

She  gave  him  one  swift,  anxious  thought  before 
she  went  in  to  the  task  before  her. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SHE  ATTEMPTS  TO  SYMPATHIZE. 

THIS  cultured  young  physician  had  been  such 
a  blessing  to  them !  Her  heart  swelled 
with  gratitude  whenever  she  thought  of  his  steady 
unfailing  care  and  thoughtfulness.  His  skillful 
management  of  her  husband's  case  had  borne 
testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  recommendation 
which  their  own  family  physician  at  home  had 
given  her  in  his  letter  of  introduction:  "I  have 
not  seen  my  old  friend  and  pupil,  Dr.  Portland,  in 
several  years,  but  I  have  kept  watch  of  him,  and 
he  is  proving  to  be  what  I  thought  him  in  college 
—  a  genius  in  his  profession.  Do  not  fear  to 
place  implicit  trust  in  his  skill  and  faithfulness." 

It  had  taken  her  but  a  few  days  to  learn  to  do 
so.  Short  as  their  acquaintance  had  been,  both 
her  husband  and  herself  were  learning  to  regard 
Dr.  Portland  as  perhaps  their  only  intimate  friend 
in  a  land  of  strangers.  Yet  nothing  was  plainer 
than  that  he  had  no  personal  acquaintance  with 

78 


SHE    ATTEMPTS    TO    SYMPATHIZE.  79 

the  Friend  who  was  more  to  these  two  than  all 
others.  There  was  a  dash  of  irreverence  in  all 
that  he  said  about  religious  matters,  and  a  vein  of 
mockery  often  running  through  the  gay  language 
in  which  he  referred  to  the  different  phases  of 
Christian  work  in  which  they  were  interested. 
Here,  too,  was  a  field,  the  Christian  woman 
thought,  which  ought  to  be  occupied  for  Christ ; 
but  she  felt  that  she  knew  less  how  to  reach  a 
man  of  his  stamp  than  even  Liph  Stetson,  who 
would  answer  for  the  opposite  pole  of  humanity, 
so  far  as  culture  was  concerned.  "  He  is  not  at 
all  like  Chess  Gardner,"  she  told  her  husband ; 
"Chess  never  really  mocked  at  sacred  things.  In 
his  sacred  heart  he  respected  them  ;  but  Dr. 
Portland  gives  me  the  impression  that  it  is  only 
the  environments  of  propriety  which  keep  him 
from  downright  mockery." 

But  there  was  no  more  time  to  think  of  Dr. 
Portland.  She  had  let 'herself  into  the  large,  bare 
room,  which  looked  even  barer  than  usual,  with 
the  ironing-board  hiding  its  white  face  against  the 
wall,  and  the  irons  standing  glum  and  cold  upon 
the  unused  stove.  Some  plain  dark  calico  cur 
tains,  which  had  hidden  something  from  view  on 
Mrs.  Holmes'  previous  visits,  were  drawn  aside, 
and  revealed  a  dreary-looking  bed,  covered  with  a 
dark  calico  spread.  Underneath  this  covering  lay 
Mrs.  Carpenter,  her  hair  drawn  back  as  uncom- 


8O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

promisingly  as  ever,  and  her  eyes  looking  larger 
and  colder,  if  any  thing,  than  they  had  when  she 
stood  and  ironed.  Plainly  she  was  very  far  from 
being  asleep,  yet  she  had  not  chosen  to  respond 
to  the  knock. 

"Good  afternoon,"  ventured  Mrs.  Holmes.  "I 
took  the  liberty  of  coming  in  uninvited,  because  I 
thought  you  might  be  alone,  and  asleep.  I  am 
very  sorry  that  you  are  sick." 

"Are  you?"  said  Mrs.  Carpenter;  "so  am  I. 
I  shall  have  to  disappoint  all  my  customers  this 
week,  I  suppose.  I  have  no  doubt  they  will  be 
sorry  for  me  —  or  think  they  are." 

She  moved  her  head  restlessly  while  she  spoke, 
and  the  one  small  pillow,  rolled  into  a  fierce  little 
wad  under  it,  looked  so  uncomfortable  that  Mrs. 
Holmes  drew  out  her  down  one. 

"Your  head  aches,  does  it  not  —  and  is  hot? 
Let  me  put  this  cool  little  pillow  under  it.  Mr. 
Holmes  thinks  it  has  a  soothing  effect  sometimes; 
and  I  brought  some  lavender  water  with  me,  in 
case  you  had  a  headache ;  that  is  very  cooling,  you 
know." 

There  was  a  very  perceptible  shrinking  from 
the  small  white  pillow,  as  though  coming  in  con 
tact  with  it  gave  the  woman  positive  pain.  Mrs. 
Holmes  felt  sure  she  would  have  refused  it  utterly 
if  she  could  have  found  words  soon  enough ;  but 
by  this  time  the  cool,  trained  hand  of  the  self- 


SHE    ATTEMPTS    TO    SYMPATHIZE.  8 1 

constituted  nurse  was  making  swift  passes  over 
the  hot  forehead,  leaving  a  trail  of  coolness  and 
delicate  odor. 

"  You  are  very  good,"  said  Mrs.  Carpenter, 
"but  it  is  not  necessary  to  take  all  that  trouble 
for  me.  I  am  not  used  to  it,  and  it  is  a  waste  of 
sentiment.  It  ought  to  be  kept  for  people  who 
know  how  to  be  grateful.  I  do  not." 

"  Never  mind  the  gratitude,"  said  her  nurse, 
cheerily;  "we  will  give  attention  just  now  to  the 
ache,  and  to  some  other  matters.  I  think  it  quite 
probable  that  you  need  some  nourishment.  What 
did  you  have  for  dinner  ?  " 

"Spoiled  fish-balls,  the  last  dinner  I  ate,"  said 
the  sick  woman,  promptly.  "I  haven't  eaten 
any  in  two  days.  However,  they  were  not  more 
spoiled  than  most  things  are  which  come  out  of 
tin  cans.  We  live  in  tin  cans  down  here,  you 
know,  sealed  up  codfish  and  milk  and  every  thing 
—  even  sentiment  — and  if  any  of  it  is  exposed 
to  outside  influences  it  spoils." 

There  was  nothing  amusing  in  this  sentence. 
There  was  not  even  the  slightest  attempt  to  be 
amusing.  Cold,  dreary  sarcasm  was  evidently 
what  was  intended.  The  genial  woman  bending 
over  the  speaker  felt  her  heart  shiver  under  its 
influence.  Nevertheless,  she  controlled  herself, 
and  spoke  bravely. 

"  I  should  recommend  some   beef  broth   for  a 


82  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

change,  and  fortunately  I  put  into  my  basket  a 
bottle  of  some  which  I  made  fresh  to-day  for  my 
husband.  I  brought  my  little  spirit-lamp  along 
also,  to  heat  it  on,  tor  the  day  is  so  warm  I 
thought  you  might  not  have  any  fire." 

While  she  spoke  she  busied  herself  in  getting 
out  the  bottle  and  lamp,  and  a  delicate  china  cup, 
tinted  in  pale  blue.  Mrs.  Carpenter  watched  her 
with  severe  eyes.  "Mrs.  Holmes,"  she  said  at 
last,  "there  isn't  the  slightest  need  for  that,  and 
I  wish  you  wouldn't.  If  you  think  you  make  me 
more  comfortable  doing  it,  you  don't.  I  would 
much  rather  be  let  alone;  I'm  not  used  to  being 
taken  care  of ;  I  have  had  no  care  since  I  was  a 
young  girl,  and  I  never  expect  any  again.  I 
don't  want  it.  All  I  ask  of  this  world  is  a  chance 
to  work,  and  to  be  let  alone." 

Over  the  first  part  of  this  ungracious  sentence 
Mrs.  Holmes  had  flushed  and  hesitated.  Was 
there  any  use  in  trying  to  force  kindness  upon 
one  who  refused  it  with  such  persistent  rudeness? 
But  one  thing  gave  her  courage.  In  the  sentence, 
"since  I  was  a  young  girl,"  there  had  been  the 
slightest  perceptible  break  in  the  speaker's  voice, 
and  there  came  to  the  listener  a  swift  knowledge 
of  the  fact  that  some  tender  memory  was  stirred, 
whether  the  woman  would  or  not. 

"  How  do  I  know  what  dark  story  has  frozen 
her  poor  heart  ? "  she  asked  herself. 


SHE  ATTEMPTS  TO  SYMPATHIZE.        83 

"Now,"  she  said  presently,  quite  as  though  the 
woman  had  not  spoken  at  all,  "it  is  all  ready,  and 
I  know  it  will  do  you  good,  because  Mr.  Holmes 
said  it  was  the  best  I  had  made  yet ;  and  he  is  a 
judge.  Will  you  let  me  feed  it  to  you,  or  would 
you  like  to  sit  up  and  wait  upon  yourself?" 

Much  as  though  she  were  a  victim  to  circum 
stances  over  which  she  had  no  control,  Mrs. 
Carpenter,  with  a  half-disdainful  gesture,  raised 
herself  on  one  elbow  and  drained  the  hot  liquid 
with  a  few  rapid  swallows.  Yet  Mrs.  Holmes 
could  not  be  sure  whether  it  was  all  fierceness,  or 
in  part  starvation,  for  the  want  of  proper  food. 

"  I  will  give  you  some  more  in  a  little  while," 
she  said,  as  graciously  as  though  the  recipient  had 
responded  with  grateful  words  and  smiles. 

Suddenly  there  came  another  knock  at  the  door, 
followed  by  the  swift  entrance  of  a  young  woman 
with  a  basket  in  her  hand. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  she  said,  stopping  mid 
way;  "I  thought,  of  course,  you  were  alone,  and 
I  brought  you  a  little  rice  ;  it  was  the  only  decent 
thing  I  could  get  hold  of." 

"Come  in,  Mad,"  said  Mrs.  Carpenter,  with 
more  show  of  humanity  in  her  voice  than  Mrs. 
Holmes  had  heard  before;  "I  didn't  expect  you, 
because  I  did  not  think  you  would  be  able  to 
accomplish  it ;  rice  is  nourishing,  I  suppose,  and 
that  is  what  I  need  to  help  me  get  back  to  my 


84  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

work.  Great  business  for  me  to  break  down, 
right  in  the  middle  of  the  week !  I  never  did 
such  a  thing  before." 

"Flesh  and  blood  will  not  stand  everything," 
said  the  girl ;  "  though  you  try  hard  enough  to 
make  them.  Will  you  have  the  rice  now,  or"- 
She  glanced  hesitatingly  at  Mrs.  Holmes  and  the 
china  cup.  That  young  woman  came  forward 
courteously ;  if  she  must  be  the  hostess  on  this 
occasion,  she  was  ready. 

"  I  gave  her  a  few  spoonfuls  of  quite  strong 
beef  tea,"  she  said,  sweetly,  "all  I  thought  it  wise 
to  let  her  have  at  first.  The  doctor  has  me  give 
it  to  my  husband  in  small  quantities  and  fre 
quently  ;  but  I  should  think  a  little  rice  might  be 
good  for  her,  if  she  would  relish  it." 

"I  detest  it !  "  said  the  woman  on  the  bed. 

The  two  guests  looked  at  each  other  and 
smiled  ;  from  that  moment  they  felt  introduced. 

"Mad  knows  I  hate  rice,"  said  Mrs.  Carpenter, 
"and  she  knows  that  I  have  to  eat  it ;  just  as  she 
and  I  both  have  to  eat  and  wear  and  do  things 
all  the  time  that  we  hate.  This  is  Madeline 
Hurst,  Mrs.  Holmes." 

The  two,  thus  introduced,  exchanged  bows  and 
smiles  again.  The  girl  flushed  in  an  embar 
rassed  way.  She  looked  as  though  she  knew 
what  proper  introductions  were,  and  might  have 
resented  this  one  had  she  thought  it  worth  while. 


SHE    ATTEMPTS    TO    SYMPATHIZE.  85 

She  had  bright  black  eyes,  which  had  twinkled 
appreciatively  once  or  twice,  but  which  Mrs. 
Holmes  decided  could  sparkle  with  another  kind 
of  feeling  on  occasion.  She  had  black  hair,  also, 
and  the  sharp  features  which  indicate  intensity  of 
character  in  some  directions.  Mrs.  Holmes  found 
herself  studying  the  girl  curiously. 

"It  is  another  type  still,"  said  this  bewildered 
woman  to  herself;  "I  cannot  help  being  inter 
ested  in  her ;  but  I  cannot  place  her.  What 
an  extraordinary  name  to  call  her  !  '  Mad  ! '  I 
wonder  if  it  is  chosen  because  of  its  fitness?" 

The  girl  did  not  give  her  much  time  for  study 
ing  character.  She  bent  over  Mrs.  Carpenter, 
said  a  few  words  in  a  low  tone,  went  to  the  little 
corner  cupboard,  emptied  her  basket,  and,  with 
a  promise  to  look  in  to-morrow  if  she  could,  hur 
ried  away. 

"  Poor  Mad  !  "  said  Mrs.  Carpenter,  looking  after 
her  with  a  gleam  of  something  like  sympathy  in 
her  face ;  "  we  are  kindred  spirits  in  a  way, 
though  there  is  such  disparity  in  our  ages  and 
positions;  we  both  live  miserable  lives,  and  that 
makes  a  sort  of  bond  between  us." 

"Who  is  she?"  Mrs.  Holmes  inquired  with 
interest. 

"She  is  an  orphan,  and  lives  with  her  brother; 
he  is  a  pussy  kind  of  man,  ruled  by  his  wife ;  and 
his  wife  is  —  well,  she  is  what  a  woman  can  be 


86  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

who  chooses  to  be  hateful ;  and  she  chooses 
exactly  that,  where  Mad  is  concerned.  She  leads 
the  girl  a  miserable  life.  I  wouldn't  endure  it ; 
I  tell  Mad  so ;  I  would  run  away  or  drown  myself, 
or  do  something  desperate.  She  isn't  bound  by 
any  law  nonsense,  and  could  go  if  she  would.  I 
hate  slavery,  though  you  might  not  think  it." 

Mrs.  Holmes  shivered  visibly.  What  a  thing  it 
was  to  have  the  girl,  who  could  not  be  much  over 
twenty,  influenced  by  this  unhappy,  disappointed 
woman. 

"What  does  the  girl  have  to  trouble  her?"  she 
asked,  gently,  with  a  feeling  that  it  might  ease 
Mrs.  Carpenter's  own  sore  trouble  to  talk  about 
another's  pain. 

"Everything  that  a  woman  —  mistress  of  her 
house,  and  hating  the  other  woman  who  has  to 
make  her  home  with  her— can  produce.  If  you 
cannot  imagine  what  sort  of  a  life  that  would  be, 
you  are  fortunate.  She  is  sneered  at,  and  mocked 
at,  and  bullied  —  that's  the  only  word  for  it  — 
every  hour  in  the  day.  According  to  her  sister- 
in-law,  she  never  by  any  possibility  does  any  thing 
right.  She  is  complained  of  to  the  woman's 
friends,  or  to  strangers  for  that  matter,  if  her 
precious  sister  happens  to  get  a  chance  to  talk  to 
them.  She  is  declared  to  be  utterly  selfish, 
deceitful  and  unprincipled  in  every  way.  There 
is  not  a  mean  or  hateful  thing  that  she  is  not 


SHE    ATTEMPTS    TO    SYMPATHIZE.  8/ 

capable  of  doing.  Why,  my  life  is  comfortable 
compared  with  that  child's  !  She  is  an  unutterable 
fool  to  stand  it.  Even  I  can  afford  to  be  sorry 
for  her,  and  when  it  comes  to  that  it  is  some 
thing  !  Mad  is  no  saint,  but  she  is  a  thousand 
times  better  than  her  sweet  sister-in-law  would 
have  you  to  believe." 

"Why  does  the  brother  permit  such  treatment 
of  his  sister?"  Mrs.  Holmes  inquired. 

"  Because,  as  I  told  you,  he  is  a  pussy-cat  man. 
Mrs.  Hurst  arranges  all  these  things.  He  sits 
meekly  by,  and  does  as  he  is  told.  Oh,  they  are 
not  my  kind  of  people.  They  are  eminently 
respectable.  He  is  an  officer  in  the  church, 
bless  you,  and  she  is  a  leading  member  when  it 
comes  to  fairs  and  sociables,  and  such  things. 
They  live  on  one  of  the  good  streets  in  a  good 
house,  and  wouldn't  be  seen  coming  to  Mrs.  Car 
penter's  door  except  to  get  some  washing  done ! 
One  of  Mad's  sins  is  that  she  has  low  tastes,  and 
is  willing  to  associate  with  low-down  people,  mean 
ing  me.  Poor  Mad  likes  to  escape  over  here 
sometimes.  There  are  times,  I  think,  when  she 
even  envies  me." 

"There  are  harder  lots  in  life  than  yours,"  said 
her  guest  boldly,  busying  herself  with  another 
portion  of  beef  tea  while  she  spoke.  "  I  know, 
dear  madam,  that  that  sounds  unsympathetic,  but 
it  is  true.  Think  what  it  would  be  if  you  were 


88  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

not  able  to  keep  every  thing  clean  and  neat  about 
you.  I  feel  sure  that  would  distress  you,  yet  I 
have  known  women  who  did  not  understand  how 
to  compass  such  a  state  of  things,  and  were  mis 
erable  in  consequence." 

It  was  but  a  poor  little  crumb  of  comfort.  She 
could  hardly  blame  the  sick  woman  for  letting  her 
lip  curl  in  a  hard,  sarcastic  smile  over  the  thought 
that  there  was  nothing  for  her  to  be  glad  about 
but  a  bare,  desolate,  clean  room ! 

"I  know,"  the  comforter  went  on  hurriedly, 
"what  a  dreadful  disappointment  your  life  must 
be.  Do  not  think  I  do  not  understand,  and  in  a 
sense  appreciate  it.  To  have  one's  husband"- 

She  stopped  in  unutterable  confusion.  Cer 
tainly  she  was  treading  on  dangerous  ground. 
Nothing  but  a  desperate  desire  to  help,  could 
have  made  her  do  it.  She  would  not  have  blamed 
Mrs.  Carpenter  if  her  face  had  flushed  angrily. 
But  to  see,  instead,  that  mocking  smile  was 
almost  more  than  she  could  bear. 

"Go  on,"  said  Mrs.  Carpenter,  still  with  that 
terrible  smile  upon  her  face;  "to  see  one's  hus 
band  a  brute,  a  sot,  a  miserable,  staggering  old 
hulk,  who  does  not  know  even  enough  to  keep 
himself  decently  clean  !  Is  that  what  you  were 
going  to  say  ?  You  see  I  have  spared  you  the 
description.  I  understand  the  details  so  well !  but 
I  want  to  hear  the  rest.  What  would  you  dg 


SHE  ATTEMPTS  TO  SYMPATHIZE.        89 

really,  do  you  think,  if  we  were  to  change  places? 
Do  you  fancy  you  would  clasp  your  hands  in  thank 
fulness  because  you  were  able  to  scrub  your  floor  ?  " 

How  was  such  a  question  to  be  answered  ? 
The  guest  felt  her  face  crimson  with  shame  for 
the  disgrace  and  horror  of  it  all.  To  what  depths 
of  degradation  must  a  woman  have  been  brought 
who  could  speak  to  a  stranger  in  this  way  of  the 
husband  of  her  youth  !  She  resisted  the  tempt 
ation  to  say  that  however  low  her  husband  had 
fallen,  she  would  try  to  remember  that  she  bore 
his  name,  and  had  made  certain  promises  concern 
ing  him.  This  woman  was  ill,  and  she  wanted  to 
help  her.  The  first  step  was  to  be  patient  with 
the  frenzy  which  was  an  outgrowth  of  her  misery. 
Before  she  could  determine  what  reply  to  make, 
and  while  Mrs.  Carpenter  was  regarding  her  with 
that  mocking  smile,  there  came  an  interruption. 
A  shuffle,  rather  than  a  step,  was  heard  outside. 

The  whole  aspect  of  the  woman  changed.  She 
turned  her  head  toward  the  door  in  a  listening 
attitude.  In  place  of  the  hard  smile  had  come  a 
look  of  intense  scorn  mingled  with  disgust.  Sud 
denly  she  spoke  in  a  half  whisper : 

"Bolt  that  door,  quick!" 

In  an  instant  Mrs.  Holmes  was  at  the  door, 
her  face  pale  with  terror,  and  had  pushed  the  bolt. 
Just  in  time,  for  an  uncertain  hand  was  already 
fumbling  with  the  knob, 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

SHE    IS    DISMAYED    AND    DISCOMFITED. 

THEN  a  man's  voice  was  heard  in  expostula 
tion  : 

"Oh,  come,  Jane,  let  me  in,  I'm  in  a  dreadful 
state.  I've  had  an  accident,  and  am  as  wet  as 
a  drowned  rat.  I  shall  catch  my  death  of  cold 
if  you  don't  let  me  in.  Come,  Jane ;  I  won't 
muss  any  thing  up  ;  I'll  just  get  something  dry, 
and  go  out  again." 

There  was  no  response  from  the  woman  on  the 
bed,  and  no  change  on  her  dark  face. 

"You  reached  the  door  just  in  time,"  she  said 
to  Mrs.  Holmes;  "I'm  much  obliged  to  you  for 
that  at  least." 

"Are  you  afraid  of  him?"  asked  Mrs.  Holmes, 
in  a  frightened  whisper. 

"Afraid!"  The  words  seemed  to  explode  from 
Mrs.  Carpenter's  lips,  rather  than  be  uttered  by 
her.  "What  should  I  be  afraid  of?  He  wouldn't 

90 


SHE    IS    DISMAYED    AND    DISCOMFITED.  9 1 

dare  touch  me  with  his  little  finger,  even  if  he 
wanted  to." 

"But  he  is  —  that  is  —  is  he  not"-  — and  then 
she  stopped  in  pain  and  shame  again.  How  could 
she  ask  a  woman  if  her  husband,  who  stood  out 
side,  pleading  for  admittance,  was  intoxicated  ? 

"Oh,  yes,  he's  drunk  enough,"  said  the  woman 
calmly;  "and  wet  and  muddy,  and  every  thing 
else  that's  revolting.  Faugh  !  But  he's  never 
ugly,  even  at  his  worst ;  not  to  me,  at  least.  He 
wouldn't  dare  to  be.  As  to  that,  I  don't  think  he 
ever  has  any  wish  to  be.  I  will  give  even  him  his 
due.  I  suppose  that  is  another  thing  for  which 
I  ought  to  be  thankful,  isn't  it  ? "  and  the  shadow 
of  that  mocking  smile  hovered  about  her  face 
again.  "  But  I'm  not,  I  assure  you.  There  have 
been  times  when  I  have  thought  if  he  would  take 
me  by  the  shoulder,  and  turn  me  out  of  the 
house,  or  kick  me  out,  I  could  have  a  touch  of 
sympathy  for  him.  I  can  understand  the  devil 
when  he  takes  hold  of  a  soul  in  such  ways,  but 
driveling  idiots  are  beyond  my  endurance.  I 
believe  in  the  devil,  you  see ;  if  ever  a  woman  had 
reason  to,  I  have.  Oh,  you  will  find  me  very 
orthodox,  in  some  respects." 

Mrs.  Holmes  felt  her  whole  soul  shrink  away 
from  this  terrible  woman.  The  poor  wretch  at 
the  door  seemed  more  human  than  she. 

"Why  do  you  not  let  him  in,"  she  asked  coldly, 


92  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"if  you  are  not  afraid  ?  It  may  be  your  duty.  If 
the  man  is  really  wet  and  chilled,  a  life  may  be  at 
stake.  I  will  find  for  him  what  he  needs,  if  you 
will  direct  me,  then  unfasten  the  door  and  retire." 

"  But  I  shall  not  direct  you,  and  I  will  not  let 
that  drunken  wretch  into  this  room  to-day ;  not 
if  I  have  to  crawl  out  of  bed  and  fight  it  out 
myself.  I  can  do  it.  I  went  to  bed  for  pru 
dence'  sake,  because  I  knew  I  should  not  be  able 
to  do  your  fine  ironing  very  soon  unless  I  did ; 
but  I  could  get  up  if  I  had  to." 

Mrs.  Holmes  answered  not  a  word.  The  out 
sider  had  apparently  already  abandoned  his  efforts 
and  staggered  feebly  away,  making,  as  he  went,  a 
sort  of  dreary  whimper,  as  an  ill-used  animal 
might  have  done.  An  inexpressible  horror  filled 
the  soul  of  one  of  the  listeners ;  it  seemed  to  her 
that  she  felt  afraid,  not  of  the  drunken  man,  but 
of  his  wife.  She  looked  toward  the  bolted  door, 
with  an  impulse  to  open  it  and  flee  away,  leaving 
this  lost  soul  to  herself.  Yet  the  terrible  look  on 
the  woman's  face,  and  the  glare  in  her  eyes,  said 
plainly  that  she  was  sick  and  suffering. 

"  She  may  not  know  what  she  is  saying," 
thought  her  visitor;  "half  of  the  horror  of  this 
scene  may  be  owing  to  the  delirium  of  fever.  I 
ought  not  to  leave  her  alone  in  such  a  state;  but 
oh,  I  wish  Dr.  Portland  had  been  going  to  return 
this  way!  I  should  certainly  call  him  in." 


SHE    IS    DISMAYED    AND    DISCOMFITED.  93 

In  silence  she  poured  out  and  administered  the 
beef  tea  once  more,  standing  silently  by  while  the 
contents  of  the  cup  were  being  drained  again  and 
pronounced  very  good. 

"  I  can  feel  that  it  is  giving  me  strength,"  said 
Mrs.  Carpenter,  as  she  returned  the  cup;  "and  I 
am  obliged  to  you,  though  I've  almost  forgotten 
how  to  express  such  feelings." 

Voice  and  manner  were  quieter  than  they  had 
been.  After  a  moment's  silence,  during  which  her 
visitor  was  wondering  what  arrangements  could 
be  made  for  the  night,  she  spoke  again  in  the 
calm,  cold  tone  which  belonged  to  the  ironer  at 
her  board  : 

"I  have  alarmed  you  by  my  fierceness  this  after 
noon,  I  suppose.  I  do  not  often  go  on  in  this 
way,  but  I  have  suffered  just  enough  to  make  me 
lose  self-control ;  it  made  me  wild  to  think  of  that 
man  coming  near  me  to-night ;  when  I  am  well 
and  can  go  out  of  the  house  and  sit  on  the  door 
step,  or  can  draw  the  chair  to  the  further  corner 
of  the  room  and  sit  in  it,  I  leave  him  in  peaceable 
possession  of  the  bed ;  but  share  the  room  with 
him  to-night  I  will  not." 

The  young  and  happy  wife  listened  with  eyes 
dilating  in  horror.  What  a  life  was  that  to  live! 
To  shrink  in  loathing  from  the  one  whose  name  she 
bore,  who  should  have  had  a  right  to  claim  at  her 
hand  all  that  sacred  love  and  tenderness  could  give. 


94  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"And  he  is  your  husband  !  "  she  thought  aloud, 
rather  than  said  the  words. 

The  face  on  the  bed  darkened. 

"Yes,  he  is.  Do  not  remind  me  of  it,  if  you 
please  ;  there  is  no  need ;  I  never  for  a  moment 
forget  it.  Mrs.  Holmes,  I  hate  shams  of  all 
sorts ;  at  the  risk  of  horrifying  you  even  more 
than  I  have  already  done,  I  mean  to  speak  out ;  I 
do  not  often  ;  I  live  in  an  awful  silence,  but  you 
have  tried  to  be  good  to  me;  that  is  why  I  am 
going  to  speak.  I  hate  that  man  who  was  fum 
bling  like  an  imbecile  at  the  door  a  short  time 
ago ;  no  other  word  will  express  the  feeling  I 
have  for  him  ;  I  hate  him  !  Why  I  stay  and  slave 
for  him,  and  live  the  life  I  do,  instead  of  going 
back  where  I  came  from,  is  owing  to  my  mis 
erable  Puritan  training.  I  have  a  sort  of  feeling 
that  it  is  not  respectable  for  a  woman  to  desert 
her  husband,  and  go  away  to  what  she  was  before 
she  knew  him,  if  that  were  possible.  I  have  no 
near  friends,  no  one  in  the  world  for  whom  I 
really  care,  when  it  comes  to  that,  but  I  have 
acquaintances  by  the  score,  and  the  demon  of 
respectability  has  gotten  hold  of  them  and  me ;  it 
is  more  respectable  in  their  eyes,  and  it  always 
was  in  mine,  to  live  on  in  the  way  one  has  chosen 
rather  than  to  desert  it.  That  is  why  I  do  it. 
But  I  thought  it  would  save  you  trouble,  and  me 
talk,  if  you  understood  plainly  at  the  beginning 


SHE    IS    DISMAYED    AND    DISCOMFITED.  95 

that  you  could  not  do  any  thing  for  me,  and  might 
as  well  leave  me  to  my  fate.  I  hate  it,  and  him, 
and  always  expect  to.  If  it  were  respectable,  I 
should  kill  him,  but  it  is  not  considered  so,  you 
know,  and  I  have  no  fear  of  doing  it." 

Was  there  any  answer  which  ought  to  be  made 
to  such  wild  and  sinful  words  ?  Mrs.  Holmes 
tried  to  think,  and  to  steady  her  heart,  so  that  she 
might  speak  quietly.  The  words  which  her  hus 
band  had  spoken  about  the  transforming  power  of 
God's  Spirit  recurred  to  her,  the  more  forcibly 
because  she  began  to  realize,  as  never  before,  that 
only  God's  Spirit  could  transform  such  lives  as 
this. 

"  Do  you  forget,"  she  said,  in  a  voice  of  studied 
quietness,  "that  there  is  a  possibility  of  all  this 
being  changed  ?  That  there  is  a  Power  which 
could  make,  not  only  your  husband,  but  yourself, 
into  new  beings;  could  give  you  back,  indeed,  the 
love  and  trust  which  belonged  to  the  early  days  of 
your  life  together?  Oh,  Mrs.  Carpenter,  you 
asked  me  what  I  would  do  if  we  had  to  change 
places;  I  know  how  little  I  can  realize  what  the 
horror  and  terror  must  be,  but  I  do  know  I  would 
do  one  thing :  if  I  had  never  learned  to  pray,  I 
would  make  it  my  first  lesson  ;  then  I  would  pray, 
pray,  day  and  night  that  God  would  take  hold  of 
my  husband,  as  his  power  alone  could  do,  and 
make  him  again  the  husband  whom  I  loved  and 


g6  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

chose  from  all  the  world.  Such  things  have 
been  done,  madam,  you  must  know  it;  and  they 
may  be  again." 

She  had  not  awakened  even  a  shadow  of  tender 
memory,  though  the  woman  could  not  have  been 
married  much  more  than  a  decade.  Instead,  there 
was  the  horror  of  that  wretched  smile. 

"That  is  very  good  logic,"  she  said,  "with  one 
exception  —  your  premises  are  wrong;  there  never 
was  any  such  time  as  the  one  to  which  you  so 
feelingly  refer." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Mrs.  Holmes. 

"I  mean  that  I  did  not  marry  for  sentiment;  in 
plain  English,  I  did  not  pretend  to  love  the  man  I 
married." 

"Then  why  did  you  marry  him?"  The  ques 
tioner's  face  was  pale  and  stern ;  her  life  had  been 
sheltered  from  such  women  as  this.  Except  in 
third-rate  novels,  she  had  not  realized  that  they 
were  to  be  found. 

"  For  a  home ! "  said  Mrs.  Carpenter,  with  a 
sardonic  smile;  "for  the  comforts  of  life,  for  the 
respectability  of  the  married  state !  Have  I  not 
told  you  several  times  that  New  England  women 
will  do  any  thing  for  respectability  ?  Surely  you 
can  understand  the  motive !  Do  you  not  see  what 
a  lovely  home  he  has  prepared  for  me  and  how  my 
life  is  sheltered  ?  I  needed  a  protector,  you 
know ;  I  was  a  poor  lonely  girl,  drudging  in  a 


SHE    IS    DISMAYED    AND    DISCOMFITED.  97 

country  school  to  support  myself ;  and  I  was  tired 
of  it.  There  was  nobody  to  care  for  me,  or  do 
for  me,  if  I  fell  sick.  I  was  at  the  mercy  of  aunts 
and  cousins  who  considered  me  a  nuisance ;  and, 
in  short,  I  did  as  hundreds  of  other  girls  do ;  only 
I  never  pretended  that  it  was  for  love." 

"And  you  profess  to  hate  shams!" 

Perhaps  it  was  the  tone,  rather  than  the  words, 
which  made  Mrs.  Carpenter's  face  flush. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  presently,  "I  do,  and  am  hon 
est  in  it.  Have  I  not  told  you  there  was  no  pre 
tense  of  any  thing  but  a  business  transaction  ?" 

"  Upon  the  part  of  both  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Holmes, 
solemnly. 

"No,"  after  a  scarcely  perceptible  hesitation; 
"  I  will  be  honqst  in  that,  too.  He  thought  he 
preferred  me  to  all  the  world.  I  have  no  doubt 
he  was  sincere,  and  you  see  how  much  it  has 
amounted  to.  What  am  I,  compared  to  a  bottle 
of  whisky,  or  even  to  a  quid  of  tobacco  ? " 

But  the  disgust  in  her  face  was  responded  to 
only  by  stern  dignity  on  the  part  of  her  questioner. 

"Was  there,  then,  no  marriage  ceremony?" 

The  woman  on  the  bed  glared  on  her  in  such 
a  way  that,  had  she  been  in  less  terrible  earnest, 
she  might  have  been  frightened. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  was  the  short,  sharp 
question. 

"Just  what  I  say.     Was  there  no  marriage  cer- 


98  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

emony  performed  by  God's  appointed  servant,  at 
which  time  you,  having  called  upon  God  to  wit 
ness,  vowed  to  love  and  honor  the  man  of  your 
choice  until  death  parted  you  ?  How  dare  you 
say  there  was  no  deception,  when  you  remember 
that  ? " 

The  region  where  this  woman's  conscience 
ought  to  have  been  was  touched  at  last.  The 
flush  on  her  face  began  to  die  out,  leaving  a  gray 
pallor,  but  her  voice  was  as  firm  as  ever. 

"Honor!"  she  said,  in  fine  scorn;  "that  is 
an  expressive  word  to  use  to  me ;  remember, 
there  were  two  to  make  the  promise.  What  has 
become  of  the  pledge  to  'love,  honor  and  cherish' 
me  ?  How  could  even  God  expect  me  to  honor 
such  a  wretch  as  he  has  become? " 

"All  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  question," 
Mrs.  Holmes  said,  firmly. 

She  was  amazed  at  herself.  She  did  not  under 
stand  how  she  had  the  courage  to  speak  such 
words ;  she  knew  that  in  quieter  moments  she 
would  question  the  wisdom  of  having  begun  this 
conversation  at  such  a  time,  but,  having  begun 
it,  it  seemed  to  her  of  infinite  importance  that 
the  woman  should  hear  the  truth. 

"That  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  question," 
she  said,  firmly;  "your  husband  must  answer  to 
God,  for  his  broken  vows,  and  so  must  you ; 
whether  you  are  able  to  have  the  right  feeling  for 


SHE    IS    DISMAYED    AND    DISCOMFITED.  99 

him  now  or  not  does  not  alter  the  fact  that, 
unless  you  had  it  then,  you  took  lying  words  upon 
your  lips,  disgraced  your  womanhood  by  one  of 
the  most  terrible  shams  of  which  a  soul  can  be 
guilty.  By  your  own  confession,  Mrs.  Carpenter, 
the  husband  whom  you  despise  was  less  guilty 
than  you." 

The  sick  woman  sat  up,  and  began  to  twist,  and 
put  back  into  place  her  long  black  hair,  from 
which  the  hair-pins  had  fallen.  The  red  glow  had 
come  back  to  her  cheeks,  but  her  voice  and  man 
ner  were  quiet  enough. 

"  I  wish  you  would  have  the  goodness  to  go 
away,"  she  said,  with  cutting  dignity;  "go  away 
and  leave  me  alone;  you  mean  well,  but  you  don't 
know  what  you  are  talking  about.  I  saw  from  the 
very  first  that  your  intentions  were  commendable ; 
you  meant  to  try  to  do  me  good ;  I  felt  almost 
sorry  for  you,  because  I  knew  better  than  you  did 
what  a  hopeless  errand  yours  was.  You  haven't 
succeeded,  and  never  will ;  you  do  not  know  how. 
I  would  advise  you  as  a  friend  to  confine  your 
efforts  to  the  pretty  girls,  and  red-cheeked,  well- 
dressed  boys,  who  are  playing  at  life.  You  may 
understand  enough  about  that  sort  of  life  to  influ 
ence  them,  but  a  hundred  years  of  such  talk  as 
you  have  been  giving  me  would  do  no  good,  would 
do  only  harm  ;  not  even  with  the  beef  tea  thrown 
in,  and  I  don't  deny  that  it  was  good.  But  until 


TOO  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

you  learn  that  you  have  no  right  to  go  into  a  mis 
erable  woman's  house  and  insult  her,  you  would 
do  well  to  keep  out  of  it.  All  I  ask  of  you  is  to 
let  me  alone.  I  am  glad  of  the  chance  to  do  your 
ironing,  because  you  pay  well  and  promptly,  and  I 
am  not  afraid  that  you  will  run  away  in  the  night, 
leaving  an  unpaid  bill,  which  is  what  some  of  your 
fine  ladies  are  equal  to.  I  have  a  higher  opinion 
of  you  than  you  have  of  me,  for  to  that  extent  I 
trust  you ;  but  at  least  I  am  frank  in  this,  I  want 
nothing  more  to  do  with  you ;  I  hope  never  to  see 
your  face  again." 

"I  beg  you  to  lie  down,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes, 
regarding  the  sick  woman  with  keen  anxiety,  "I 
am  sorry  if  I  hurt  you  ;  I  ought  not  at  this  time 
to  have  spoken  as  I  did.  You  are  quite  right,  I 
have  very  little  experience  with  sick  people ;  if 
you  will  only  lie  down  and  be  quiet,  I  will  leave 
you  at  once." 

It  was  evident  that  her  presence  was  exciting 
the  unhappy  woman  to  a  pitch  which  might  per 
haps  be  beyond  her  control.  Trembling  in  every 
nerve  with  excitement  and  terrible  disappoint 
ment,  Mrs.  Holmes  made  haste  to  gather  together 
her  belongings,  slip  the  bolt  and  disappear. 

Once  out  of  the  house,  she  breathed  more 
freely.  Surely  the  sick  woman  could  hardly  be 
so  glad  to  get  rid  of  her  as  she  was  to  go.  Yet 
she  was  obliged  to  assure  herself  that  she  had  a 


SHE    IS    DISMAYED    AND    DISCOMFITED.         IOI 

long  walk  to  take  through  one  of  the  main  streets 
of  the  town,  and  that  she  must  by  no  means  break 
down  and  cry,  at  least  until  she  reached  the  shel 
ter  of  her  own  room.  What  a  horrible  failure  she 
had  made !  How  utterly  foolish  in  her  to  speak 
as  she  did  to  a  woman  wild  with  pain  and  misery ! 

"I  should  not  have  noticed  what  she  said  any 
more  than  I  would  the  ravings  of  a  lunatic,"  she 
told  herself,  yet  there  was  an  undertone  convic 
tion  that  Mrs.  Carpenter  knew  only  too  well  what 
she  was  talking  about,  and  had  revealed  the 
wretched  truth.  What  was  now  to  be  done  ? 
To  leave  her  alone  in  her  helpless  state,  without 
even  the  care  of  the  husband  whom  she  had 
driven  from  her,  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  Yet 
who  was  there  that  could  be  summoned  to  her 
aid  ?  There  were  neighbors,  it  is  true,  but  Mrs. 
Holmes  knew  none  of  them,  and  the  glimpses  she 
had  had  of  those  nearest  at  hand  did  not  incline 
her  to  hope  much  from  their  ministrations. 

"She  cannot  surely  stay  there  alone,"  said  this 
much-troubled  Endeavorer;  "her  husband  may 
not  return  to-night,  or,  if  he  does,  it  may  be 
much  worse  for  her  in  her  present  state  than  if  he 
had  stayed  away.  I  wonder  if  there  is  any  thing 
which  that  poor  Madeline  Hurst  can  do?  I 
passed  a  house  not  very  far  from  here  with  that 
name  on  the  door;  I  wonder  if  it  can  be  where 
she  lives?" 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SHE  REACHES  AFTER  THEM. 

MADELINE  HURST  was  in  the  dining-room 
of  her  brother's  house,  standing  near  the 
window,  book  in  hand.  The  table  was  laid  for 
tea  —  not  very  neatly,  and  without  much  regard 
to  comfort.  Madeline  had  prepared  it,  so  far  as  it 
could  be  said  to  be  prepared.  It  was  not  by  any 
means  as  well  as  she  could  have  done ;  like  poor 
"  Happy,"  she  rarely  did  any  thing  as  well  as 
she  could ;  and  if  she  had  been  asked  the  reason, 
would  have  had  no  better  reply  than  the  evasive 
one,  "What's  the  use?" 

She  was  quite  as  much  given  to  having  a  book 
in  her  hand  as  was  Happy.  And,  while  they 
were  of  a  very  different  type,  so  far  as  regarded 
literary  merit,  it  cannot  be  said  that  they  were 
more  helpful  to  this  girl's  nature  than  were  Hap 
py's  to  her.  Nearly  always  they  were  written 
from  the  standpoint  of  dissatisfaction  with  what 
their  authors  were  pleased  to  call  "the  dull  com- 
102 


SHE  REACHES  AFTER  THEM.         I 03 

monplaces  of  life,"  and  all  references  to  Bible  or 
church,  or  to  the  opinions  commonly  held  by 
Christian  people,  contained  a  covert  sneer.  In 
short,  they  were  books  such  as  no  living,  active 
Christian  could  have  enjoyed,  or  even  tolerated. 
Stories  they  were,  of  course.  Girls  of  Madeline 
Hurst's  development  rarely  read  much  of  other 
forms  of  literature,  better  written  as  regards  style 
than  the  dime-novel  series,  but  almost  as  unreal 
in  their  way  as  the  most  absurd  of  these,  yet  the 
unreality  was  too  subtle  for  an  unformed  mind  to 
notice. 

So  absorbed  was  the  girl  in  the  volume  she 
held,  that  she  did  not  hear  the  door  open,  and  it 
was  only  when  her  sister-in-law  was  almost  at  her 
elbow  that  she  gave  a  violent  start  and  made  an 
instinctive  effort  to  hide  the  book  ;  then,  realizing 
the  folly  of  such  an  attempt,  turned,  with  it  held 
open  in  her  hand. 

"Yes,"  said  a  high-keyed,  peevish  voice,  "I 
would  try  to  hide  it ;  only  I  was  rather  too  quick 
for  )  ou  this  time ;  you  will  not  gain  any  thing 
by  hiding  them ;  I  know  that  you  spend  every 
moment  you  can  steal  in  poring  over  worthless 
trash.  I  told  your  brother  so,  only  last  night; 
the  wonder  is,  that  you  are  not  more  nearly 
ruined  than  you  are.  When  are  we  to  have  tea, 
pray?  Must  we  wait  until  that  three-volumed 
story  is  finished  ?" 


IO4  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"You  are  at  liberty  to  have  it  whenever  you 
choose,  I  suppose,"  answered  the  girl,  in  that  sort 
of  irritating  calm  which  natures  like  hers  can 
assume  on  occasion ;  "  I  was  not  aware  that 
I  had  the  management  of  that  matter  in  my 
hands." 

"  No,  and  I  suppose  you  were  not  aware  that 
you  were  to  set  the  table,  nor  put  the  dining-room 
in  order;  in  fact,  if  one  may  judge  from  your 
behavior,  you  are  not  aware  that  you  have  any 
duty  in  life  but  to  read  novels,  and  make  yourself 
as  disagreeable  as  possible  Why  didn't  you 
make  some  gems  for  tea?" 

"  I  did  not  know  that  you  wished  any ;  it  is  the 
first  I  have  heard  of  them." 

"The  first  you  have  heard!  Would  a  girl  who 
had  common  sense,  and  who  was  in  the  habit  of 
doing  any  thinking  for  any  one  but  herself,  need 
to  be  told  that  when  bread  was  scarce  and  baking- 
day  twenty-four  hours  off,  something  else  would 
be  needed  ?" 

"  I  am  sure,  Emily,  I  did  not  know  that  bread 
was  scarce.  Why  can  you  not  be  reasonable 
about  that  ?  You  must  certainly  remember  that 
you  ordered  me  to  let  the  bread-jar  alone,  and 
said  it  was  none  of  my  business  whether  there 
was  bread  in  it  or  not ;  after  that,  how  could  I 
be  expected  to  know,  without  being  told,  that  a 
substitute  would  be  needed?" 


SHE  REACHES  AFTER  THEM.        IO5 

"  Yes,  you  harp  on  that !  Because  I  told  you 
one  day  that  you  needn't  meddle  with  the  bread 
when  Nancy  was  there  to  attend  to  it,  and  that 
she  knew  as  well  as  you  did  when  the  jar, needed 
scalding,  your  Indian  nature  took  offense,  and 
you  made  a  resolve  to  be  as  hateful  about  that  as 
you  are  about  every  thing  else.  I  wouldn't  have 
such  a  disposition  as  you  for  any  thing  in  this 
world !  Treasure  up  a  word  that  is  said  to  you  in 
haste,  as  though  it  was  something  dreadful ;  and 
make  yourself  and  every  one  else  uncomfortable. 
I  suppose  that  is  the  way  the  heroine  acted  in  the 
last  novel  you  read ;  a  sweet  creature  she  must 
have  been  if  you  have  been  patterning  after  her 
all  this  week ;  for  I  must  say  you  have  surpassed 
yourself,  even,  in  hatefulness." 

The  sallow  face  of  the  girl  grew  crimson, 
and  her  eyes  glowed  until  they  resembled  Mrs. 
Carpenter's. 

"You  have  no  right  to  speak  so  to  me,"  she 
said,  coldly ;  "  but  I  suppose  that  will  not  make 
any  difference.  I  am  not  reading  a  'three-volumed 
novel,'  and  if  I  were,  I  cannot  see  whose  business 
it  would  be  except  my  own.  What  do  you  want 
for  supper,  Emily  ? " 

"  It  is  a  pretty  time  of  day  to  ask  that !  What 
we  can  get,  of  course.  Baker's  bread,  I  suppose, 
which  will  have  to  be  run  after  at  the  time  when 
we  should  be  eating  it ;  your  brother  is  very  fond 


IO6  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

of  baker's  bread,  you  know !  he  will  have  another 
proof  of  his  sister's  care  for  his  comfort." 

The  girl  faced  around  and  looked  her  sister 
steadily  in  the  face. 

"  Emily,  what  do  you  mean  ?  What  sense  is 
there  in  this  tirade  ?  If  you  had  wanted  me  to 
make  something  for  supper,  was  there  any  thing 
to  hinder  your  telling  me  so?" 

"  Oh,  no,  nothing  in  life ;  I  might  have  had  old 
Pete  go  through  the  town  ringing  his  bell,  and 
shouting  out  the  valuable  information  that  the 
Hursts  were  out  of  bread,  in  the  hope  that  the 
news  would  fall  upon  your  devoted  ears  and  you 
would  rush  home  from  some  of  your  haunts  to 
attend  to  us !  How  long  have  you  been  in  the 
house,  pray  ? " 

A  conscious  look  came  into  the  girl's  face,  as 
she  said  in  a  somewhat  quieter  tone : 

"I  have  not  been  away  from  the  house  very 
long,  and  I  should  not  have  gone  out  had  I 
known  that  any  thing  special  was  wanted  of  me." 

"  Of  course  not.  How  could  such  a  stranger 
as  you  are  in  this  house  be  expected  to  know 
that  Nancy  is  always  out  on  Friday  afternoon, 
and  that  we  commonly  have  supper  on  that  day 
as  well  as  on  others  ?  Why  should  you  have  any 
responsibility  in  the  matter,  any  way  ?  Eating  is  a 
vulgar  occupation ;  I  presume  the  fine  ladies  and 
gentlemen  in  your  novels  live  without  it." 


SHE  REACHES  AFTER  THEM.         ID/ 

Madeline  turned  away  with  an  expressive  sigh. 

"You  are  in  worse  humor  than  usual,"  she  said, 
coldly;  "and  that  is  certainly  unnecessary.  If 
there  is  any  thing  you  want  me  to  do,  more  than 
I  have  already  done  toward  getting  supper,  I 
advise  you  to  tell  me  what  it  shall  be  without 
more  waste  of  time." 

What  would  have  been  the  outcome  of  this 
sisterly  conference,  but  for  the  fact  that  Mrs. 
Hurst's  attention  was  diverted,  it  might  be  diffi 
cult  to  surmise.  Fortunately  for  Madeline,  her 
sister-in-law  had  not  heard  the  last  response, 
being  engaged  in  watching  the  slow,  uncertain 
movements  of  a  lady  on  the  other  side  of  the 
street,  who  was  studying  the  houses  opposite  with 
utmost  care,  and  was  apparently  in  doubt  which 
way  to  go.  Mrs.  Hurst,  looking  on,  saw  her 
presently  quicken  her  pace  and  cross  the  street ; 
a  moment  afterward  the  watcher  uttered  an  excla 
mation  of  surprise. 

"I  declare  if  she  isn't  coming  here?  What  in 
the  world  can  that  be  for?  And  I  am  not 
dressed !  Mad,  run  to  the  door  while  I  fix  my 
hair  a  little ;  it  is  that  new  boarder  at  Mrs.  Stet 
son's.  I  can't  imagine  what  she  wants.  I  have 
never  called  upon  her;  she  looked  too  stuck  up 
for  me.  But  go  along,  do  ;  she  won't  want  to  be 
kept  waiting  all  night.  Look  in  at  the  parlor  as 
you  pass,  and  see  if  it's  in  any  kind  of  decent 


IDS  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

order.  If  you  would  spend  one  third  of  the  time 
you  give  to  novels  in  keeping  that  room  respect 
able,  I  needn't  be  in  a  panic  every  time  the  bell 
rings." 

It  was  quite  Mrs.  Hurst's  habit  to  plunge  into 
new  topics  of  interest  without  regard  to  any  thing 
which  she  might  have  been  saying  before ;  so 
Madeline  was  not  surprised,  and,  without  a  word 
in  reply,  moved  toward  the  door,  glancing  in  at 
the  parlor  as  she  went,  and  wondering  scornfully 
what  particular  good  her  sister-in-law  thought  it 
would  do  to  "look  in  upon"  a  disordered  room  on 
her  way  to  receive  a  visitor!  The  room  was  not 
in  order,  and  she  knew  it ;  the  dust  lay  thick  on 
some  of  the  mantel  ornaments,  and  the  few  books 
on  the  pretentious  little  center-table  were  in  wild 
confusion.  Madeline  knew  that  she  ought  to  take 
better  care  of  the  parlor,  but  her  conscience  had 
long  since  grown  callous  to  that  simple  word 
"ought."  She  had  few  friends  and  almost  no 
visitors ;  nevertheless,  she  was  occasionally  called 
upon  to  blush  for  the  condition  of  the  room.  It 
was  with  a  heightened  glow,  therefore,  on  her 
dark  cheeks  that  she  opened  the  door  to  Mrs. 
Holmes. 

"Oh,  it  is  you,"  that  lady  said,  with  a  relieved 
air.  "I  am  glad;  I  was  not  sure  that  the  name 
on  the  door  had  any  connection  with  your  family. 
May  I  come  in  and  speak  with  you  a  moment  ? " 


SHE  REACHES  AFTER  THEM.        IOQ 

and  she  entered  the  disorderly  little  parlor,  seat 
ing  herself  with  that  courteous  air  of  unconscious 
ness  in  regard  to  all  disorder  which  the  well-bred 
know  how  to  assume. 

"I  am  distressed  about  Mrs.  Carpenter,  as  to 
how  she  is  to  be  taken  care  of  during  the  night. 
Surely  she  ought  not  to  be  left  alone,  or  at  the 
mercy  of  her  drunken  husband.  I  meant  to  ask 
her  if  she  had  any  friends  or  acquaintances  who 
would  come,  but  unfortunately  I  offended  her, 
and  she  would  not  permit  any  further  effort  upon 
my  part." 

"You  offended  her?"  asked  the  girl,  with  a 
touch  of  surprise  in  her  voice.  Then  immediately 
added  :  "  Poor  thing !  Of  course  you  did.  An 
angel  from  heaven  could  offend  her  when  she  is 
in  one  of  her  moods.  Indeed,  madam,  I  do  not 
know  what  can  be  done ;  she  has  no  friends  in 
town,  and  no  acquaintances  except  the  people  for 
whom  she  works.  That  poor  wretch  of  a  husband 
would  take  care  of  her  if  he  happened  to  be  sober, 
and  she  would  let  him,  but  I  am  afraid  she  would 
drive  him  away." 

"She  has  already  done  so,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes. 
"  Is  he  ever  unkind  to  her  ? " 

Madeline  laughed. 

"Oh,  no;  he  would  not  dare  to  be.  Mrs.  Car 
penter  is  mistress  of  the  situation  always.  It  is  a 
dreadful  house,  Mrs.  Holmes.  I  was  attracted  to 


IIO  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

them  by  the  very  peculiarity  of  their  misery ;  so 
unlike  drunkards'  homes  which  one  reads  about." 

"How  well  the  girl  talks,  and  what  a  brilliant 
color  she  has!"  was  Mrs.  Holmes'  mental  com 
ment;  "she  has  the  elements  of  a  strong  charac 
ter,  capable  of  accomplishing  good  or  ill,  accord 
ing  as  she  is  swayed.  I  wonder  how  much  that 
poor  woman's  story  about  her  home  is  to  be  relied 
upon  ? " 

Partly  because  of  her  desire  to  investigate  this 
question,  she  made  her  next  effort. 

"Then  you  do  not  know  of  any  person  to 
whom  we  could  appeal  ?  Perhaps  your  sister 
would  advise  us." 

Madeline  shook  her  head  with  a  quick  flash  of 
eyes  which  might  mean  several  things. 

"Oh,  no!  Mrs.  Hurst  does  not  know  the 
woman,  and  she  has  nothing  to  do  with  such  mat 
ters.  I  am  sure  I  do  not  know  what  can  be  done. 
I  would  be  very  willing  to  spend  the  night  with 
her,  but  I  am  afraid  my  brother"  She  hesi 
tated  painfully,  and  Mrs.  Holmes  made  haste  to 
her  rescue. 

"  I  understand  perfectly,  my  dear  girl ;  you  are 
much  too  young  for  night  work  of  this  sort ;  your 
brother  would  not  permit  it,  of  course." 

How  little  she  understood  only  Madeline  knew. 
But  she  was  grateful  for  the  escape  from  explana 
tion,  and  began  again. 


SHE  REACHES  AFTER  THEM.         I  I  I 

"There  are  one  or  two  women,  either  of  whom 
I  think  would  go  there  out  of  kindness ;  but  the 
trouble  is  Mrs.  Carpenter  would  not  have  them ; 
she  is  very  peculiar.  There  is  a  woman  living 
on  the  next  street  who  takes  care  of  the  sick  for 
pay,  but  I  am  afraid"  —and  again  she  stopped 
in  embarrassment.  Mrs.  Holmes  caught  at  the 
word  "pay." 

"Oh,  if  there  is  some  one  who  would  be  accept 
able,  I  should  be  very  glad ;  she  should  certainly 
be  paid.  Can  we  get  word  to  her,  and  arrange 
it  ?  I  will  pay  whatever  the  woman  is  in  the 
habit  of  receiving.  I  think  she  should  stay  for 
a  few  days  and  give  Mrs.  Carpenter  a  chance  to 
rest.  I  do  not  know  but  it  is  rest  that  she  needs 
more  than  any  thing  else.  Is  this  woman  one  to 
whom  we  could  make  a  little  explanation  —  take 
into  a  sort  of  confidence?  Because  I  am  afraid 
Mrs.  Carpenter  is  not  just  now  in  the  mood 
to  receive  even  ordinary  kindness  at  my  hands. 
Perhaps,  Miss  Hurst,  you  could  join  me  in  a  little 
bit  of  diplomacy ;  let  the  poor  woman  think  that 
the  sin  of  engaging  the  nurse  rests  with  you." 

Madeline  shook  her  head  with  a  pitiful  smile 
on  her  face  as  she  spoke : 

"It  would  not  work,  dear  madam;  Mrs.  Car 
penter  knows  that  I  have  not  a  cent  of  money  to 
do  any  thing  with,  and  never  have.  But  we  can 
manage  it  with  the  woman,  if  you  will  be  so  kind. 


112  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

She  has  common  sense  and  a  good  enough  heart, 
only  she  is  poor,  and  cannot  afford  to  spend  her 
strength  without  being  paid  for  it." 

"She  shall  be  paid,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes  again, 
much  relieved.  "That  is  the  very  simplest  part 
of  doing  for  others  —  the  device  of  shirkers,  I 
often  think.  There  are  people  who  have  no 
trouble  at  all  in  getting  out  their  pocket-books, 
but  who  shrink  from  personal  work." 

Madeline  laughed. 

"I  do  not  know,"  she  said;  "I  never  had  a 
chance  to  try  any  of  their  ways,  but  I  know 
people  who  never  think  of  putting  their  hands 
into  their  pockets  for  such  things ;  it  is  strange 
that  you  should  be  willing  to  do  so,  when  Mrs. 
Carpenter  was  rude  to  you." 

"  That  does  not  change  the  obligation  in  the 
least,  you  know,"  Mrs.  Holmes  said,  quietly,  "nor 
was  the  poor  woman  entirely  to  blame.  I  think 
I  was  as  injudicious  as  possible  in  saying  what  I 
did.  I  wonder  if  I  can  get  you  to  manage  the 
securing  of  the  nurse  for  me  ?  I  would  not  ask 
it,  but  I  have  been  long  gone  now  from  my  sick 
husband,  whose  sole  nurse  I  am  day  and  night." 

"I  will  attend  to  that,"  said  Madeline,  though 
as  she  spoke  she  wondered  what  Mrs.  Holmes 
would  think  if  she  knew  how  hard  it  was  for  her 
to  compass  even  so  small  a  matter. 

"Thank   you,"    replied    Mrs.    Holmes,    sweetly, 


SHE  REACHES  AFTER  THEM.        113 

"though  you  have  better  thanks  than  human  lips 
can  speak.  He  recognized  even  'a  cup  of  cold 
water,'  you  know,  if  given  in  his  name.  I  hope 
you  work  for  his  regard  ? " 

Her  voice  was  very  sweet.  Despite  her  efforts 
at  self-control,  it  brought  a  rush  of  tears  to  the 
eyes  of  the  lonely  girl. 

"I  do  not  know,"  she  said;  "or,  that  is,  I  do 
know  only  too  well  that  I  do  not  do  any  thing 
nowadays  from  a  right  motive.  I  used  once  to 
think  that  I  belonged  to  Him,  but  I  have  given 
all  that  up  long  ago." 

"  My  dear  girl,  what  a  strange  thing  to  give  up ! 
Do  you  not  remember  that  there  is  nothing  in 
life  which  lasts  but  that  ?  " 

"Well,"  dashing  the  tears  away,  "I  suppose  I 
am  wrong  to  say  I  gave  it  up.  I  mean,  rather, 
that  I  never  had  it.  I  only  thought  I  had.  It  was 
a  miserable  mistake,  like  all  the  rest  of  my  life." 

"But  mistakes  of  that  kind  can  be  remedied, 
my  friend,"  spoken  with  a  bright,  glad  smile;  "if 
I  did  not  belong  to  the  Lord  yesterday,  it  is  all 
the  more  reason  why  I  should  make  haste  to  see 
to  it  to-day." 

She  had  risen,  and  was  moving  toward  the  door 
while  she  talked.  In  her  heart  was  a  burning 
desire  to  get  back  to  her  husband,  whom  she 
feared  was  at  home  and  in  need  of  her;  but 
surely  this  was  the  King's  business. 


114  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

Madeline  shook  her  head  and  struggled  to 
speak  with  dignity. 

"Thank  you,  ma'am;  you  are  good  to  think 
any  thing  about  me,  but  you  do  not  understand." 

"No,"  gently;  "that  is  true,  but  there  is 
another  truth  that  offsets  it,  my  friend.  The 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  knows  every  turn  of  the  way, 
and  every  brier  and  thorn  which  grows  on  it ;  take 
them  to  him,  dear  soul,  and  his  word  for  it,  all 
shall  be  well." 

She  was  on  the  steps  by  this  time,  but  she 
held  out  her  hand  cordially. 

"Will  you  not  come  and  see  me  as  soon  as 
you  can  ?  I  do  not  leave  my  husband  very  often, 
but  I  have  long,  lonely  hours  while  he  sleeps  ;  I 
should  be  glad  to  have  you  come.  May  I  expect 
you?" 

"You  are  very  kind,"  murmured  Madeline.  It 
was  all  that  at  that  moment  she  could  trust  her 
voice  to  say. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ONE  WALKS  AMONG  THORNS. 

WELL,"  said  Mrs.  Hurst,  confronting  Made 
line  at  the  dining-room  door,  "  why  in 
the  name  of  all  that  is  extraordinary  didn't  you 
come  and  call  me?  Didn't  you  know  enough 
to  understand  that  that  was  your  place  ?" 

She  had  not  only  brushed  her  hair,  but  had 
exchanged  her  dress  for  a  pretty  evening  one,  and 
had  evidently  been  waiting  in  a  fever  of  expect 
ancy  for  her  summons.  Madeline  gave  a  start  of 
dismay  at  the  sight.  She  had  forgotten  her 
sister-in-law ! 

"She  did  not  ask  for  you,"  she  said,  coldly; 
"her  call  was  upon  me." 

"  Oh,  indeed  !  I  was  not  aware  that  she  had 
the  honor  of  being  acquainted  with  Your  High 
ness.  She  is  no  lady,  any  how,  with  all  her  fine 
airs,  or  she  would  have  known  enough  to  ask  for 
me.  Pray  what  did  she  want  of  you?" 

Madeline    struggled    with    the    desire    to    say, 


Il6  HER.  ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

"something  which  does  not  concern  you,"  and 
answered  hesitatingly: 

"  She  wanted  to  consult  me  about  some  one  to 
stay  with  Mrs.  Carpenter,  the  woman  who  did 
your  curtains  ;  she  is  sick." 

"Consult  with  you!"  There  was  surprise  and 
intense  scorn  in  the  tone.  "What  in  the  name 
of  wonder  did  she  think  you  would  know  about 
such  things  ?  or  did  she  come  to  hire  you  to  take 
care  of  the  woman  ?  Is  that  the  reputation  you 
are  acquiring  among  your  chosen  associates?" 

A  wicked  smile  spread  over  the  girl's  face  as 
she  said  : 

"  No,  she  did  not  ask  me  to  go ;  she  spoke  of 
you." 

The  moment  the  words  were  uttered  she  would 
have  given  much  to  have  recalled  them.  It  was 
not  only  that  they  conveyed  a  wrong  impression, 
but  they  were  so  utterly  out  of  accord  with  what 
had  just  been  said  to  her!  Poor  Madeline  knew 
that  her  sister-in-law  stirred  up  all  the  evil  there 
was  in  her.  She  honestly  believed  that  it  would 
be  impossible  for  her  to  live  a  Christian  life  so 
long  as  she  stayed  in  her  brother's  house. 

"Little  she  knows  about  the  thorns!"  she  told 
herself,  bitterly,  yet  even  then  came  the  memory 
of  the  sweet  reply  she  had  received  :  "The  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  knows  every  brier  and  thorn  upon 
the  road," 


ONE    WALKS    AMONG    THORNS.  I  I/ 

Meantime,  Mrs.  Hurst  was  regarding  her  with 
angry  eyes. 

"Mad  Hurst,"  she  said,  "if  you  are  not  the 
most  exasperating  girl  that  ever  lived  in  this 
world,  then  I  hope  I  may  be  saved  from  seeing  a 
worse  one  !  What  do  you  mean  ? " 

"I  simply  mean  that  she  asked  me  whether 
you  knew  of  some  one  who  could  be  secured  to 
stay  with  Mrs.  Carpenter;  and  as  I  knew  you  did 
not,  I  told  her  so." 

"  And  what  business  had  you  to  do  any  such 
thing?  What  right  have  you  to  decide  what  I 
know,  or  do  not  know  ?  That  is  all  of  a  piece 
with  your  mean,  selfish  disposition ;  you  were  so 
afraid  I  would  have  a  chance  to  speak  to  a  lady 
once  in  awhile  that  you  took  pains  to  cheat  me 
out  of  it,  even  though  I  was  asked  for,  it  seems ; 
and  then  told  a  falsehood,  and  declared  I  was  not 
asked  for !  If  you  think  I  am  going  to  stand 
every  thing  from  you,  you  are  mistaken.  If  I 
don't  tell  your  brother  all  about  this,  it  will  be 
because  I  can't !  " 

This  threat  neither  dismayed  nor  angered  Mad 
eline.  Frequent  repetition  had  caused  it  to  lose 
its  sting.  Complaint  she  well  knew  there  would 
be,  poured  out  in  torrents ;  but  she  knew,  also, 
that  the  utmost  her  brother  would  do  would  be  to 
sigh  and  say : 

"  It  seems  a  great  pity  to  me  that  two  women 


I  1  8  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

who  have  nothing  to  do  all  day  but  stay  at  home 
and  keep  house,  cannot  live  in  peace." 

There  was  a  certain  degree  of  sympathy  which 
Madeline  had  for  her  brother  that  often  kept  her 
from  speaking  the  words  she  wanted  to.  He  was 
an  overworked,  weary  man  ;  forever  struggling 
with  the  problem  of  how  to  support  his  family  in 
a  style  which  his  business  did  not  warrant ;  for 
the  truth  may  as  well  be  told  about  this  Hurst 
household.  One  demon  which  had  as  much  to  do 
with  disturbing  their  peace  as  any  other  was 
named  "Appearance."  To  make  as  good  a  show 
as  their  neighbors,  in  dress  and  furniture,  was 
Mrs.  Hurst's  ambition  in  life.  For  this  she 
stinted  the  kitchen  and  starved  the  appetites  of 
her  family.  She  kept  a  girl,  not  because  her 
sister  and  herself  would  not  have  been  equal  to 
the  entire  work  of  her  household,  had  it  been  well 
ordered,  but  because  in  the  society  in  which  she 
moved,  and  especially  in  the  society  in  which  she 
was  forever  struggling  to  move,  "they"  never  did 
their  own  work.  But  she  kept  a  miserable,  slat 
ternly,  ill-taught  girl,  dull  of  comprehension,  and 
with  no  desire  to  learn ;  one  who  managed,  in  one 
way  or  another,  to  break  and  waste  material 
enough  to  support  a  small  family ;  and  who  cre 
ated  an  atmosphere  of  discomfort  wherever  she 
turned.  No  matter,  she  was  a  girl,  and  Mrs. 
Hurst,  when  she  paid  her  round  of  visits  among 


ONE    WALKS    AMONG    THORNS.  119 

her  friends,  could  talk  as  glibly  as  the  best  of 
them  about  the  "trials  connected  with  servants." 

Mr.  Hurst,  who,  left  to  himself,  or  acted  upon 
by  other  influences,  would  have  cared  little  for 
such  things,  had  allowed  himself  to  be  so  warped 
by  his  wife's  ideas,  as  to  join  with  her  in  the 
weary  strain  to  keep  up  appearances,  until  the 
tempers  of  both  had  been  worn  nearly  threadbare. 
Given  such  a  state  of  things,  and  you  can  readily 
understand  what  a  storm  of  angry  objections 
would  greet  Madeline's  ears  if  she  hinted  at  her 
wish  to  be  independent  and  earn  her  own  living. 
Not  that  they  would  have  objected  to  her  doing  it 
in  a  genteel  way,  but  the  trouble  was,  that,  in 
their  judgment,  no  genteel  way  was  open  to  her. 
She  frankly  assured  them  that  she  did  not  know 
enough  to  teach  ;  that  she  had  no  talent  for  plain 
sewing,  and  that  the  one  thing  which  she  felt  sure 
she  could  learn  to  do  and  be  a  success  in,  was 
light  house-work ! 

It  cannot  be  said  that  the  girl  herself  was  really 
anxious  to  take  up  any  such  work.  Her  training 
had  been  too  false  for  that.  She  now  held  the 
belief  that  she  would  make  a  decided  descent  by 
doing  so ;  but  life  in  the  only  home  she  knew 
was  so  miserable  that  at  times  she  almost  believed 
herself  ready  for  even  that.  At  least,  she  had 
been  ready  to  hold  it  over  her  indignant  sister's 
head  as  the  awful  thing  which  she  might  be 


I2O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

driven  to  do.  Of  late,  however,  she  had  not 
cared  to  mention  such  a  possibility,  having  dis 
covered  that  her  sister-in-law  had  fallen  into  the 
habit  of  entertaining  a  few  of  her  most  intimate 
friends,  by  whispering  to  them  her  awful  fear  that 
Madeline  had  inherited  low  tastes  from  some  far 
away  ancestor,  which,  as  she  grew  older,  were 
cropping  out  in  unexpected  ways,  her  passion 
for  sensation  being  even  such  that  she  actually 
hinted,  at  times,  of  her  longing  to  indulge  it  by 
going  out  to  service!  "We  really  live  in  terror 
of  being  disgraced  as  a  family  by  some  wild  esca 
pade  of  this  sort."  This  was  the  style  of  sen 
tence  with  which  the  confidence  was  apt  to  close. 
Mrs.  Hurst  was  not  slow  in  discovering  disagree 
able  things,  and  in  making  what  she  could  out  of 
them.  Thus,  when  Madeline  had  by  accident 
come  in  contact  with  Mrs.  Carpenter,  and  been 
painfully  drawn  to  the  fierce  and  suffering  woman, 
Mrs.  Hurst  sneered  at  what  she  was  pleased  to 
call  the  "intimacy"  between  them,  and  on  occa 
sion  produced  it  as  a  proof  that  the  girl  had  low 
tastes. 

All  things  considered,  it  will  readily  be  believed 
that  the  Hurst  family  did  not  sit  down  to  a  very 
comfortable  table  that  evening.  Mrs.  Hurst  was 
in  her  most  disagreeable  mood ;  even  the  presence 
of  her  three  children  did  not  succeed  in  quieting 
her  tongue. 


ONE    WALKS    AMONG    THORNS.  121 

"Where  is  the  rice  which  was  left  from  din 
ner?"  she  asked,  glancing  with  a  glum  face  over 
the  scantily-furnished  table;  "since  we  cannot 
have  any  thing  else  to  eat,  perhaps  we  may  be 
allowed  to  have  the  remains  of  the  dinner." 

A  swift  look  of  dismay  flashed  over  Madeline's 
face. 

"There  was  very  little  left,"  she  said,  "after 
Nancy  had  finished  her  dinner." 

"  So  much  the  worse  for  us,  but  what  there  is 
I  suppose  we  can  have,  since  we  must  do  without 
bread." 

"No,"  said  Madeline,  trying  to  speak  quietly; 
"  I  did  not  suppose  so  small  a  dish  of  it  would  be 
needed,  and  I  took  it  to  Mrs.  Carpenter,  because 
she  is  ill,  and  I  knew  would  have  nothing  suitable 
for  a  sick  person  to  eat." 

Mrs.  Hurst  looked  savagely  triumphant. 

"Oh,  you  did!  You  see  how  it  is,  George. 
As  long  as  we  have  to  support  Mad's  particular 
friends,  we  must  expect  to  have  our  grocery  bills 
enormous,  as  you  are  always  saying  they  are." 

For  some  reason  the  unwomanly  sarcasm  hurt 
Madeline  more  than  usual.  It  was  of  no  use  for 
her  to  struggle  with  the  rising  tide  of  mingled 
pain  and  indignation  which  threatened  to  choke 
her.  As  yet,  she  had  not  eaten  a  mouthful,  and 
rising  suddenly,  she  said  : 

"  Since  you  are  so  troubled,  I  will  save  you  the 


122  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

expense  of  my  supper  for  to-night,  at  least.  That 
will  perhaps  atone  for  the  saucerful  of  rice  which 
I  took  to  a  sick  woman." 

In  another  moment  the  door  closed  after  her 
with  a  bang,  which  but  faintly  expressed  the 
tumult  that  was  raging  in  her  heart.  Mr.  Hurst 
looked  annoyed. 

"I  don't  see  why  you  could  not  have  let  her  eat 
her  supper  in  peace,"  he  said  ;  "a  spoonful  of  rice 
doesn't  cost  so  much  that  there  need  be  a  fuss 
made  about  it." 

"Oh,  of  course,  you  take  her  side,"  Mrs.  Hurst 
said;  "you  always  do;  before  the  children,  too, 
which  makes  it  pleasanter  for  me!  If  you  don't 
mind  having  the  food  given  away,  I'm  sure  I 
needn't ;  only  I  do  hope  you  will  not  consider  it 
necessary  to  grumble  at  me  about  expenses,  when 
the  grocery  bill  is  due." 

By  this  time  poor  Madeline  was  in  her  stuffy 
little  back  room  up  stairs,  her  head  buried  in  her 
one  small  pillow,  and  she  shedding  some  more  of 
the  bitter  tears  with  which  she  almost  nightly  wet 
it.  Contact  with  the  sweet-voiced,  gentle  woman 
she  had  met  that  day  seemed  but  to  have  added 
to  her  pain ;  life  was  becoming  almost  intolerable 
to  her.  She  had  gone  over  so  often  the  possible 
avenues  of  escape  from  it,  that  they  were  all 
almost  equally  offensive  to  her.  She  knew  only 
too  well  her  sister-in-law's  scheme  for  disposing  of 


ONE    WALKS    AMONG    THORNS.  123 

her.  Mrs.  Hurst  belonged  to  the  class  of  women 
who  believe  that  the  one  aim  of  a  young  woman's 
life  should  be  to  marry,  as  early  and  as  satisfacto 
rily  as  possible,  provided  one  did  not,  by  what  she 
called  being  "too  particular,"  lose  valuable  oppor 
tunities.  Such  an  opportunity  was,  in  her  judg 
ment,  being  held  out  now  to  Madeline. 

"A  better  chance,"  she  assured  her  husband, 
speaking  vehemently,  "than  I  ever  expected  Mad 
to  have,  I  am  sure !  What  the  girl  is  thinking  of, 
to  hang  back  in  the  way  she  does,  and  run  the 
chances  of  losing  him,  I  can't  imagine.  I  don't 
see  why  you  don't  speak  to  her,  and  help  her 
come  to  her  senses.  She  acts  as  though  she 
could  marry  the  President  of  the  United  States 
by  saying  the  word." 

"  I  don't  want  to  order  her  to  marry  any  body," 
the  brother  would  say,  walking  restlessly  up  and 
down  the  room,  "it  looks  too  much  like  turning 
her  out  of  the  house ;  and  I  am  sure  that  is  the 
last  thing  I  want  to  do." 

"Oh,  now,  George,"  his  wife  would  respond, 
with  a  contemptuous  sniff,  "don't  go  to  getting 
sentimental ;  you  don't  know  how  to  do  it ;  and, 
if  you  did,  it  would  be  wasted  on  Mad ;  there  is 
nothing  in  life  that  she  longs  for  more  than  to  be 
rid  of  us  all." 

"Why  doesn't  she  take  the  man,  then,  and  be 
done  with  it?"  would  the  brother  growl,  being 


124  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

sure  that  he  was  very  much  vexed  with  somebody, 
and  not  being  quite  certain  whether  it  was  sister 
or  wife. 

"That  is  just  what  I  don't  understand;  I 
thought  she  would  jump  at  the  chance.  I'm  sure 
I  was  never  more  astonished  in  my  life  than  when 
I  found  out  he  actually  meant  business.  I 
believe  it  is  all  because  of  her  reading  so  many 
novels ;  she  has  too  high-flown  ideas  for  common 
people  —  wants  somebody  better  than  he." 

Consistency  was  not  a  marked  trait  in  Mrs. 
Hurst's  character.  It  was  not  an  unusual  thing 
tor  her  to  advance,  on  the  same  evening,  the 
theories  that  Madeline  was  entirely  above  her 
station  in  life,  and  looked  higher  than  the 
remarkably  nice  young  man  who  had  honored  her 
with  his  attentions ;  and  that  she  had  low  tastes 
and  interests,  and  would  disgrace  her  family  yet  by 
some  alliance  utterly  beneath  her;  if  this  were 
not  the  case,  why  did  she  run  to  that  Carpenter 
woman's,  who  lived  in  one  room,  in  an  alley,  and 
supported  her  drunkard  husband  by  taking  in 
washing  ?  Nice  associates,  those,  for  a  Hurst ! 

But  it  just  showed  the  girl's  make-up. 

****** 

From  her  interview  with  Madeline  Hurst,  Mrs. 
Holmes  made  all  speed  homeward,  in  great  fear 
lest  the  doctor  should  have  returned  before  this, 
and  her  husband  be  in  need  of  her,  As  she 


ONE  WALKS  AMONG  THORNS.        125 

turned  the  corner  and  saw  the  doctor's  carriage 
standing  before  the  door,  she  almost  broke  into  a 
run  and  dashed  up  the  stairs,  at  last,  in  a  way  to 
make  her  nearly  breathless.  Dr.  Portland  regarded 
her  with  his  gay,  half-mocking  smile.  "Deborah 
returned  from  service,  weary  but  triumphant ! " 
he  said,  as  he  drew  a  chair  for  her,  "or  was  it 
Dorcas  ?  I'm  a  trifle  mixed  in  biblical  history,  I 
fear.  I  have  so  little  time  to  read  up,  especially 
on  the  days  when  I  have  to  add  the  duties  of 
nurse  to  those  of  my  regular  profession." 

"  Have  you  been  long  here  ?  Have  you  needed 
me,  Stuart  ?  Have  you  had  any  refreshment?" 

"Been  here  for  ages,"  said  the  doctor,  promptly, 
"and  he  fainted  three  times,  when  he  found  you 
had  not  yet  returned.  As  for  refreshment,  he  is 
probably  quite  beyond  eating  any  thing  by  this 
time,  after  such  long  waiting." 

"Doctor,"  said  Mr.  Holmes,  smiling,  "have  you 
no  respect  for  truth  and  veracity  which  needs 
guarding  ?  Chrissy,  my  dear,  I  am  entirely  com 
fortable.  Not  nearly  so  tired  as  you  look  at  this 
minute.  We  have  not  been  long  here,  but  long 
enough  for  the  doctor  to  evlove  a  glass  of  fresh 
milk,  and  some  very  choice  crackers  from  some 
where,  on  which  I  have  feasted ;  and  the  ride  has 
done  wonders  for  me,  I  think." 

"Outwitted  !  "  said  the  doctor,  throwing  himself 
back  in  his  chair,  as  one  who  had  failed ;  "  of 


126  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

course  she  will  believe  him  rather  than  me;  it  is 
to  be  expected." 

Satisfied  as  to  her  husband's  comfort,  Mrs. 
Holmes'  thoughts  reverted  at  once  to  her  recent 
experiences.  And  in  answer  to  his  question,  she 
began  to  tell,  at  first  only  little  bits,  about  Mrs. 
Carpenter;  but,  growing  excited  with  her  subject, 
was  in  its  very  depths  before  she  realized  it. 

"I'll  tell  you  what  will  have  to  be  done,"  inter 
rupted  the  doctor,  suddenly;  "you  will  have  to 
reform  that  wretch  of  a  husband.  I  don't  know 
any  thing  which  will  bring  Mrs.  Carpenter  to  her 
senses  like  the  shock  of  the  discovery  that  her 
husband  is  really  made  of  better  stuff  than  her 
self  !  I  believe  it.  But  the  difficulty  is  in  con 
vincing  her,  or,  in  fact,  any  other  decent  person, 
of  it  just  now;  but  if  you  will  engage  to  reform 
him,  the  thing  will  be  done." 

It  was  the  merest  babble  of  words  with  him, 
and  the  merry  mockery  in  it  jarred  almost  pain 
fully  on  Mrs.  Holmes'  tired  nerves ;  but  her  hus 
band  regarded  the  speaker  very  gravely  and 
thoughtfully. 

"There  is  truth  in  what  you  say,  doctor.  God 
pity  the  soul  who,  failing  in  love,  cannot  have 
even  a  show  of  respect  for  her  husband.  If  only 
he  could  be  made,  before  her  eyes,  into  a  God 
fearing,  God-serving  man,  it  might  be  the  means 
of  saving  her  soul  as  well  as  his." 


ONE  WALKS  AMONG  THORNS.        I2/ 

The  doctor  bestowed  upon  him  a  look  of  puz 
zled  wonder,  then  burst  into  laughter.  "I  beg 
your  pardon,"  he  said,  when  he  could  control  him 
self,  "but  I  really  believe  you  think  the  thing 
feasible.  Imagine  it,  Mrs.  Holmes !  The  fact  is, 
he  has  not  seen  poor  Joe,  and  we  have  him  at  a 
disadvantage.  Only  fancy  Joe  Carpenter  made 
into  a  respectable  member  of  society !  "  Where 
upon  he  indulged  in  another  outburst  of  laughter. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

SHE    IS    PERPLEXED    ON    EVERY    SIDE. 

MR.  HOLMES'  face  expressed  only  calm 
thoughtfulness. 

"  Have  you  never  really  seen  any  exhibition  of 
power  of  that  sort,  Doctor?"  he  asked,  after  a 
moment's  silence. 

"  Of  what  sort,  my  dear  fanatic  ? " 

"The  sort  which  God  uses  when  he  transforms 
a  soul.  Is  it  possible  that  you  have  never  known 
a  character  acted  upon  by  a  power  manifestly 
outside  of  itself,  to  the  degree  that  what  it  loved 
before,  it  learned  to  turn  from  with  fear  and 
hatred  ?  In  other  words,  do  you  not  know  what 
a  Christian  means  when  he  speaks  of  the  con 
version  of  a  soul  ?  " 

A  sudden  gravity,  such  as  often  overtook  this 
man,  shone  for  a  moment  in  his  eyes  as  he  said  : 

"  I  know  there  are  forces  at  work  in  the  world 
which  we  common  mortals  do  not  understand ; 
yes,  I  will  be  entirely  frank  ;  I  have  seen  their 

128 


SHE    IS    PERPLEXED    ON    EVERY    SIDE.          I2Q 

power."  Then,  turning  to  the  lady,  he  resumed 
his  gay  tone:  "Mrs.  Holmes,  my  horses  will  be 
firm  disbelievers  in  home  missionary  effort  after 
to-day  ;  I  feel  sure  of  it.  Their  supper-time  must 
be  long  past.  What  is  that  about  a  'merciful  man 
being  merciful  to  his  beast '  ?  I  wonder  what  the 
effect  is  when  the  chief  character  is  a  woman  ?" 

His  eyes  danced  with  merriment ;  it  did  not 
seem  possible  that  they  could  have  been  almost 
dimmed  with  tears  but  a  moment  before  over 
some  tender  memory.  The  lady  marveled  over  it, 
while  he  said  his  parting  words  to  her  husband. 
Having  departed  by  way  of  the  western  piazza,  he 
looked  in  almost  immediately  to  say  : 

"Mrs.  Holmes,  it  will  be  quite  worth  your  while 
to  come  out  and  get  a  view  of  this  marvelous 
sunset ;  nothing  in  your  frozen  North  was  ever 
seen  to  approach  to  it  in  beauty.  No,  my  friend," 
as  Mr.  Holmes  made  a  movement  to  accept  the 
invitation,  "  I  did  not  say  it  would  be  worth  your 
while.  Your  manifest  duty  is  to  take  no  more 
steps  to-night,  except  those  from  that  easy-chair 
to  bed.  No  sunsets  for  you,  if  you  please  !  " 

Once  outside,  he  ignored  the  sunset,  although 
it  was  a  marvel  of  crimson  and  gold,  melting  away 
into  a  tender  glory  formed  of  both,  and  began  to 
speak  rapidly. 

"  Mrs.  Holmes,  I  am  deeply  interested  in  your 
home  missionary  efforts,  or  should  they  be  called 


I3O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

foreign  ?  Do  you  feel  as  though  you  were  a 
pilgrim  and  a  stranger,  far  from  home  ?  You  may 
not  think  it,  but  I  have  a  keen  interest  in  even 
Mrs.  Carpenter,  to  say  nothing  of  old  Joe.  Will 
you  not  take  me  into  a  sort  of  partnership? 
There  are  more  than  these  two  to  look  after;  I  do 
not  know  their  names,  but  I  feel  sure  that  you 
do;  and  you  will  find  others  —  I  see  it  in  your 
eyes.  What  I  am  after,  is  to  be  counted  in ;  con 
sulting  physician,  you  know,  or  friend  ;  I  like  that 
word  better.  I  shall  require  to  know  all  the 
minute  details  of  each  individual  case,  the  unpleas 
ant  features,  as  well  as  the  pleasant  ones,  of 
course ;  and,  between  you  and  me,  I  am  fully 
aware  that  the  unpleasant  ones  will  predominate. 
I  am  ready  for  them,  but  I  want  no  rivals,  if  you 
please.  You  are  to  save  all  the  particulars  for 
me;  if  I  am  entered  as  an  advisory  member,  I 
shall  expect  you  not  to  forestall  me  by  giving 
them  first  to  somebody  else." 

Mrs.  Holmes  regarded  him  curiously.  It  was 
not  always  easy  to  understand  this  man,  who  was 
sometimes  grave  when  he  meant  the  merest  non 
sense,  and  sometimes,  under  the  guise  of  non 
sense,  gave  her  grave  advice.  The  undertone  of 
earnestness  which  she  now  detected  in  this  whim 
sical  speech  roused  her  anxiety. 

"What  do  you  mean  ?"  she  asked,  quickly. 

"Nothing  very  alarming,"  still  speaking  lightly; 


SHE    IS    PERPLEXED    ON    EVERY    SIDE.          131 

"I  was  only  offering  to  be  sympathetic  and  help 
ful  to  the  best  of  my  humble  ability."  Then, 
more  gravely  :  "  Mrs.  Holmes,  it  is  perfectly  nat 
ural  for  you  to  return  from  your  missions  of 
mercy  with  your  heart  full  of  the  sights  and 
sounds  which  have  confronted  you ;  it  is  also 
extremely  probable  that  you  will  feel  like  talking 
them  over;  what  I  am  after  just  now,  is  to  give 
you  a  word  of  caution.  Your  husband  is  keenly 
alive  to  any  thing  which  interests  you,  to  say 
nothing  of  his  own  unaccountable  interest  in 
other  people's  sorrows  and  burdens,  and  he  is  not 
strong  enough  physically  to  bear  the  strain.  He 
is  doing  wonderfully  well,  but  his  pulse  goes  to 
bounding  like  a  caged  animal  over  the  stories 
which  you  tell  him.  Do  not  be  alarmed,  you  have 
done  no  harm  ;  I  am  only  guarding  against  the 
future.  Save  all  the  bright  places  for  him  —  the 
whimsicalities,  the  grotesque  features,  of  which 
there  must  be  many ;  people  with  over-tired 
nerves  often  need  resting  by  some  such  means ; 
as  for  the  heart-aches,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  try 
to  aid  you  in  helping,  where  help  can  be  offered, 
and  in  shouldering  whatever  end  a  clumsy  fellow 
unaccustomed  to  the  business  can  carry,  I  shall  be 
honestly  glad.  I  have  a  corner  about  me  some 
where  which  responds  faintly  to  the  needs  of 
humanity,  upon  occasion,  and  I  would  like  to  be 
useful." 


132  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

She  thanked  him  with  her  lip  quivering  a  little. 
She  felt  like  a  hopeless  bungler.  What,  for 
instance,  had  she  been  able  to  accomplish  that 
afternoon  ?  In  point  of  fact,  she  had  been  turned 
away  from  Mrs.  Carpenter's  door  with  orders 
never  to  come  again  ;  and  now  in  her  zeal  she  had 
actually  injured  her  own  especial  charge! 

However,  she  was  comforted  somewhat,  upon 
her  return  to  her  husband,  with  the  thought 
that  neither  she  nor  the  doctor  understood  him 
perfectly. 

"Chrissy,"  he  said,  his  eyes  bright  with  feeling, 
"God  is  very  good.  While  I  wait,  resting,  he 
lets  my  little  wife  go  out  and  do  her  work  and 
mine.  Did  you  notice  how  much  interested  the 
doctor  was  in  your  description  of  that  poor 
woman  ?  It  occurs  to  me  that  the  road  to  his 
heart  may  be  through  the  trials  of  others  ;  and 
that  his  faith  in  God  might  be  developed  through 
becoming  interested  in  humanity,  enough  to  watch 
and  discover  what  God  is  daily  doing  for  it.  He 
has  been  so  good  to  us,  dear,  I  wish  we  might 
repay  him  by  turning  his  thoughts  toward  the 
source  of  all  good." 

"He  is  less  troubled  than  the  doctor  supposes," 
thought  the  favored  wife,  "because  he  rests  the 
world's  burdens  where  he  does  his  own,  upon 
the  mighty  Arm,  of  which  Dr.  Portland  knows 
nothing." 


SHE    IS    PERPLEXED    ON    EVERY    SIDE.          133 

Nevertheless,  she  resolved  to  be  more  cautious 
in  future.  Her  strange  experience  with  Mrs. 
Carpenter  had  overbalanced  her  prudence  for  a 
time. 

"  You  are  not  to  think  about  any  '  poor  woman ' 
save  this  one  before  you,"  she  said,  gayly,  "and 
she  is  going  at  once  to  make  you  a  slice  of  per 
fect  toast  with  a  whole  tablespoonful  of  crearn  on 
it.  I  have  found  a  place  where  they  will  let  me 
have  a  gill  of  cream  a  day.  What  do  you  think 
of  that  ? " 

Meantime,  Happy  had  somewhat  broken  the 
level  of  her  life  with  spasmodic  efforts  at  doing 
her  work  as  well  as  she  could.  It  is  true  that  as 
yet  her  efforts  at  reform  had  not  been  so  marked 
as  to  surprise  her  employer.  In  fact,  Happy  had 
been  almost  gleeful  over  her  assured  reputation  as 
a  prophet  when  she  said  to  Mrs.  Holmes : 

"  I  told  you  so !  It  didn't  do  a  mite  of  good, 
not  a  mite.  She  never  so  much  as  noticed  the 
stairs  that  day,  nor  the  table,  nor  nothing,  and  she 
scolded  —  why,"  waxing  eloquent  in  her  earnest 
ness,  "  I  really  b'lieve  she  scolded  more  that  Sat 
urday  than  she  has  all  the  other  Saturdays  put 
together  this  fall." 

Happy's  rhetoric  was  striking,  but  her  meaning 
was  plain. 

"Never  mind,"  Mrs.  Holmes  had  said,  cheerily; 
"you  had  even  a  higher  object  than  to  please  her, 


134  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

you  remember.  And  beside,  she  might  have  been 
pleased,  although  she  said  nothing  about  it ;  peo 
ple  do  not  always  speak  what  they  think  about 
such  matters." 

"She  speaks  all  she  thinks  when  things  ain't  to 
suit  her,"  said  Happy  with  a  sagacious  nod  of  her 
head;  "or,  if  she  doesn't,  she  must  have  an  awful 
lot  of  room  for  her  thoughts.  But  I  don't  care ; 
you  noticed  the  stairs,  Mis'  Holmes,  and  that  done 
me  more  good  than  though  Mis'  Stetson  had  sot 
down  on  each  particular  stair  and  praised  it.  I 
done  it  for  you  in  the  first  place ;  I  didn't  care 
nothing  at  all  about  her." 

What  a  very  low  plane  it  was  on  which  poor 
Happy  walked  !  The  Christian  woman  could  not 
help  a  faint  effort  toward  lifting  her  higher: 

"  Oh,  Happy !  I  like  to  have  you  want  to 
please  me,  but  have  you  forgotten  what  I  told  you 
about  God,  your  Heavenly  Father?  Do  you  not 
have  a  little  desire  to  do  right  in  his  sight  ? " 

Actually  Happy  giggled,  not  in  a  bold  way,  but 
with  a  sort  of  shy  bashfulness,  as  she  said  : 

"Oh,  Mis'  Holmes,  I  don't  know  nothing  about 
them  things;  I  don't  really." 

"She  can  waive  the  entire  subject  as  effectively 
as  Dr.  Portland  can,  if  not  as  gracefully,"  her 
questioner  thought,  as  with  a  sigh  she  turned 
away. 

What  to  do  for  Happy  was  a  question  which 


SHE    IS    PERPLEXED    ON    EVERY    SIDE.  135 

perplexed  her  perhaps  as  much  as  any  of  those 
which  now  haunted  her  leisure.  There  had  been 
a  little  relief  from  the  chief  immediate  anxiety  by 
the  departure  of  Mr.  Arson  on  a  business  trip  for 
his  firm,  but  he  would  be  back  in  a  few  days,  and 
Mrs.  Holmes  felt  that  some  decided  step  ought  to 
be  taken  to  save  the  girl  from  his  attentions,  but 
she  had  not  the  remotest  idea  how  to  take  it. 

She  smiled  sadly  over  the  thought  of  how 
Stuart's  keen  brain  would  take  hold  of  the  prob 
lem,  if  only  she  dare  consult  him,  and,  remember 
ing  Dr.  Portland's  offer,  smiled  again,  still  sadly, 
as  she  felt  how  powerless  he  would  be  to  advise  in 
a  matter  like  this.  There  was  no  one  to  advise, 
and  there  was  every  one  to  worry  over.  Among 
others,  Liph.  Since  the  night  when  she  had 
spoken  such  plain  words  to  him,  she  had  only 
seen  him  across  the  street,  and  once,  face  to  face 
for  a  moment  on  the  piazza,  when  he  attempted 
an  awkward  bow  in  recognition,  his  face  redder 
than  usual  the  while ;  but  she  heard  much  of  him  ; 
rather,  she  heard  his  name  often  mentioned  by 
his  mother,  and  always  in  that  loud,  rasping  tone 
of  fault-finding.  Such  bitter  words  did  this 
mother  use  to  her  one  boy  that  those  who  over 
heard  could  almost  find  it  in  their  hearts  to  excuse 
some  of  his  evil  ways.  How  could  a  boy  help 
going  wrong,  when  he  was  daily  the  subject  of 
such  a  tongue?  Yet  Mrs.  Holmes  remembered 


136  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

also  those  bitter  tears.  Surely  his  mother  loved 
him.  If  only  she  could  be  made  to  understand 
how  steadily  she  was  driving  him  further  down 
the  road  to  ruin. 

"If  I  dared  tell  her  so,"  thought  Mrs.  Holmes; 
"if  I  could  only  in  some  way  get  an  influence 
over  her,  so  that  she  would  allow  me  to  speak 
plainly." 

This  "if,"  like  all  others,  she  took  to  her  one 
infallible  Helper.  The  answer  He  sent  her  was  so 
commonplace,  and  yet  so  entirely  out  of  the  line 
of  her  expectation,  that  for  a  little  while  she  did 
not  recognize  it  as  from  Him. 

It  was  Saturday  morning  again,  the  day  of  days 
in  Mrs.  Stetson's  kitchen.  It  was  constantly  a 
puzzle  to  Mrs.  Holmes  how  they  evolved  a  break 
fast  out  of  the  confusions  which  reigned  there  on 
all  days,  but  on  Saturday  the  plot  thickened. 
She  stood  for  a  full  minute  with  her  hand  on  the 
knob  of  the  door,  unwilling  to  enter  because  of 
the  loud  voice  which  rasped  the  air: 

"  I  wish  you  would  get  out  of  my  way !  I 
should  think  that  at  least  you  could  keep  your 
lubberly  feet  from  staying  around,  where  I  have 
to  stumble  over  'em  to  do  my  work.  Not  a  stick 
of  wood  have  you  brought  me  this  blessed  morn 
ing,  and  I've  pumped  every  pail  of  water  I've  had 
to  use.  There's  a  son  for  you !  Oh,  you're  a 
precious  one ;  I'm  proud  of  you  !  When  it  comes 


SHE    IS    PERPLEXED    ON    EVERY    SIDE.          137 

to  smoking  and  spitting  and  loafing,  there  ain't 
your  equal  in  the  whole  country  round;  I'm  sure 
of  that." 

There  was  a  low-growled  reply  which  the  irres 
olute  woman  at  the  door  could  not  catch,  and  then 
the  mother's  voice  again  : 

"Shut  up,  do!  I  won't  stand  any  more  of  your 
sass  this  morning,  I  declare  I  won't,  not  if  I  have 
to  break  a  broomstick  over  your  head !  Get  out 
of  this  room  this  minute,  or  I'll  pour  this  kettle  of 
water  over  you ;  I  declare  I  will.  Flesh  and 
blood  can't  stand  no  more  !  " 

This  was  growing  too  dreadful !  The  woman 
at  the  door  resolved  upon  a  retreat  until  quieter 
times.  So  did  Liph.  He  came  with  a  fierce 
stride,  his  hat  drawn  over  his  eyes,  so  that  he  did 
not  see  the  startled  form  which  he  almost  ran 
against ;  he  was  muttering  fiercely,  but  his  step 
was  not  unsteady.  Poor  Liph  was  at  least  "him 
self,"  and  a  miserable  specimen  of  humanity  was 
that  self.  "  It  is  a  worse  face  than  Mr.  Carpen 
ter's,  I  think,"  was  the  verdict  once  more  passed 
upon  it. 

Then,  when  she  could  summon  courage,  Mrs. 
Holmes  made  another  effort  for  the  cup  of  which 
she  was  in  search. 

The  confusion  was  greater  than  ever  before. 
The  boarder  had  not  believed  such  a  thing  possi 
ble,  but  it  was.  Dishes,  lamps,  kettles,  pans,  tubs 


138  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

of  dirty  water,  pails  of  garbage,  empty  tin  cans, 
a  basket  of  partially  decayed  vegetables,  any  thing 
and  every  thing  which  could  add  to  the  sights  and 
smells,  seemed  to  have  chosen  this  moment  to 
appear.  Midway  across  the  room  Mrs.  Holmes 
stopped  in  bewilderment. 

"What  do  you  want  now?"  This  from  her 
landlady,  in  the  most  ungracious  of  tones ;  there 
were  times  when  Mrs.  Stetson  found  it  hard  to  be 
gracious,  even  to  this  most  courteous  of  boarders. 

"  I  am  in  search  of  a  cup,  Mrs.  Stetson,  one 
which  will  fit  inside  my  alcohol-heater,  but  "- 

"  Well,  you  won't  find  it,"  interrupted  Mrs. 
Stetson,  "not  a  clean  one  ;  there  ain't  a  clean  dish 
in  this  house.  If  we  had  five  more  sets  of  dishes, 
that  good-for-nothing  hussy  would  have  them  all 
out  here  in  messy-rows.  It  does  beat  all  what  I 
have  to  stand !  Happy,  you  everlasting  idiot,  why 
don't  you  find  a  cup  for  Mis'  Holmes,  and  not 
stand  there  gauping?" 

Thus  directed,  Happy  sprang  forward  with  evi 
dent  desire  to  accomplish ;  but,  alas  for  the 
attempt !  A  large  hole  in  her  apron,  where  a 
patch  should  have  been,  seized  this  opportunity 
to  clutch  at  the  handle  of  a  saucepan,  which 
stretched  itself  out  from  the  back  of  the  stove  in 
search  of  mischief.  Over  went  the  saucepan, 
apparently  rejoiced  at  the  chance,  scattering  its 
greasy  contents  in  all  directions,  among  others, 


SHE    IS    PERPLEXED    ON    EVERY    SIDE.          139 

over  the  front  of  the  spotless  white  wrapper  which 
Mrs.  Holmes  wore.  On  the  top  of  the  saucepan 
had  been  a  platter,  with  the  remains  of  fried  ham 
and  eggs,  and  a  small  plate  containing  scraps  of 
various  sorts.  Of  course,  both  platter  and  plate 
broke  into  a  thousand  pieces.  Mrs.  Stetson, 
with  an  exclamation  which  her  boarder  did  not 
want  to  understand,  made  a  dash  for  Happy's 
ears,  and  succeeded  in  boxing  them  soundly  before 
she  attempted  to  speak. 

"I'm  sure  I'm  sorry  for  your  dress,  Mis' 
Holmes,  but  ladies  in  fine  dresses  should  not  come 
down  to  the  kitchen  ;  it  is  no  place  for  them ;  and 
that  is  all  there  is  about  it." 

"Never  mind  the  dress,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes; 
"it  will  wash."  Happy,  even  in  the  midst  of  the 
angry  tears  which  she  was  trying  to  mop  away 
with  her  wet  apron,  could  not  help  stopping  to 
stare  at  the  woman  whose  voice  was  low  and  quiet, 
and  whose  next  words  were  :  "  I  am  sorry  about 
the  dishes,  but  isn't  it  fortunate  that  this  pitcher 
did  not  break?"  And  she  stooped  to  pick  up  a 
small,  round-bodied  glass  pitcher,  which  the  jar,  or 
the  quick  steps,  or  something,  had  set  in  motion, 
and  which  had  seized  the  opportunity  to  roll  off 
the  stove  hearth  and  skip  under  the  stove.  "That 
is  such  a  pretty  pitcher,  it  would  have  been  a  real 
trial  to  have  it  broken.  Have  you  a  harder  day's 
work  than  usual,  Mrs,  Stetson?" 


140  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"I  should  think  I  had!"  said  that  woman,  in 
awful  grimness.  "  I  declare  I  don't  know  which 
way  to  turn.  I  was  up  half  the  night  with  the 
few  stumps  of  teeth  I've  got  left.  If  I  could  ever 
get  time,  and  could  scrape  money  enough  together 
to  pay  the  bill,  I'd  go  and  get  rid  of  them,  any 
how.  Then  this  morning,  of  all  days  in  the 
year,  Sally  must  give  out,  and  go  to  bed  with  a 
chill,  and  a  pain,  and  I  don't  know  what  not ;  and 
me  having  to  fuss  with  her,  and  leave  every  thing 
in  the  kitchen  to  that  good-for-nothing  Happy. 
And  if  I'd  sent  her  up  stairs  to  read  a  story-book, 
I'd  have  been  further  along  with  the  work  this 
minute.  It  is  enough  to  use  up  the  patience  of 
two  Jobs,  the  life  I  have  to  live.  How  there  is 
ever  going  to  be  a  dinner  got  for  eleven  people  is 
more  than  I  can  see." 

Mrs.  Holmes  understood  her  hostess  quite  well 
enough  to  know  that  when  she  appealed  to  "two 
Jobs,"  the  extreme  limit  of  her  endurance  was 
indeed  reached.  It  was  certainly  a  situation  cal 
culated  to  call  forth  sympathy,  to  say  nothing  of 
one's  personal  anxiety  as  regarded  dinner.  The 
boarder  thought  with  satisfaction  of  the  unfailing 
resource,  beef  tea  and  the  "gill  of  cream";  and 
of  the  basket  of  very  choice  oranges  which  the 
doctor  brought  the  day  before.  Stuart's  bill  of 
fare  was  assured  —  what  mattered  the  rest  ? 


CHAPTER    XII. 

SHE  "ENDEAVORS"  IN  A  NEW  LINE. 

SHE  had  secured  her  cup,  not  without  certain 
other  minor  perils  of  dress  and  temper,  and 
was  back  in  their  room  brewing  her  husband's 
after-breakfast  cup  of  tea,  before  it  even  occurred 
to  her  that  the  unusual  state  of  things  in  the 
kitchen  might  have  a  remote  connection  with  her 
wish  and  prayer  for  Mrs.  Stetson.  With  the 
thought  came  an  exclamation  of  dismay,  so  out 
spoken  that  her  husband  looked  up  from  the  book 
he  was  reading  to  ask:  "What  is  it,  dear;  any 
thing  happened  ? " 

"No,"  said  Chrissy ;  "or,  that  is,  a  great  many 
things  have  happened,  I  suppose,"  with  a  little 
laugh,  "and  this  thing  may,  but  I  don't  believe  it; 
not  yet." 

"A  riddle!"  he  said,  smiling;  "am  I  to  guess 
the  answer,  or  is  it  to  be  told  to  me  ? " 

"The  answer  is  not  made,  my  dear,  but  your 
cup  of  tea  is.  Did  you  think  I  might  have  gone 
141 


142  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

to  China  in  search  of  a  new  variety  ?     I  have  been 
so  long  in  getting  it  ready." 

She  stood  leaning  over  his  chair  while  he  drank 
his  tea,  her  face  thoughtful,  a  trifle  troubled. 

"Are  you  making  the  answer?"  he  asked  at 
last,  as  he  returned  the  empty  cup. 

"No,"  slowly;  "I  am  afraid  the  answer  is 
made,  and  I  do  not  quite  like  it.  There  are  very 
disagreeable  things  that  one  might  feel  it  one's 
duty  to  do,  Stuart." 

He  laughed  at  that. 

"  Nothing  is  truer,  my  dear  wife ;  I  can  speak 
feelingly;  I  have  been  placed  in  such  situations 
myself." 

"Have  you?"  she  said,  almost  wistfully;  "I 
cannot  think  it ;  you  seemed  always,  to  me,  to  be 
not  only  willing,  but  eager,  to  do  the  thing  which 
ought  to  be  done;  but  I  am  very  different." 

He  reached  his  thin  white  hand  out  after  her 
plump  one,  as  he  said  : 

"You  do  yourself  injustice,  my  little  Chrissy; 
I  have  never  seen  the  shirking  from  duties  which 
seems  to  haunt  you.  You  must  remember,  my 
dear,  that  since  I  have  had  the  right  to  look  after 
you,  I  have  always  been  obliged  to  hold  you  back, 
instead  of  urging  forward ;  in  other  words,  your 
temptation  is  to  overdo,  instead  of  underdo." 

"Ah,  but  that  is  when  work  pleases  me. 
Don't  you  know  how  I  have  wasted  my  time 


SHE    ENDEAVORS    IN    A    NEW    LINE.  143 

since  we  left  home?  But  never  mind,  you  must 
not  think  or  talk  any  more ;  it  is  time  you  were 
sleeping.  Will  you  take  a  very  long  nap,  and 
spare  me  all  the  morning  ?  " 

"  I  will  do  my  best,  dear.  But  you  are  not 
going  out  for  a  long  walk  this  morning,  are  you  ? 
It  must  be  quite  warm  in  the  sunshine;  there  is 
less  breeze  than  usual." 

She  shook  her  head. 

"I  am  not  going  to  walk  further  than  the 
kitchen  this  morning,  Stuart.  Some  of  the  mem 
bers  of  my  Christian  Endeavor  Society  need 
special  help,  and  the  place  of  meeting  is  the 
kitchen." 

The  look  he  gave  her  was  so  full  of  curiosity 
that  she  burst  into  merry  laughter. 

"You  shall  have  a  detailed  account  of  the  meet 
ing  some  other  time,"  she  said  ;  "just  now  you  are 
to  sleep." 

He  ventured  but  one  question,  having  watched 
her  with  eyes  that,  had  she  taken  time  to  look  at 
them,  might  have  told  her  several  things,  while 
she  moved  about,  wheeling  his  couch  into  just  the 
right  spot,  and  setting  the  screen  to  her  mind : 

"Are  you  going  to  the  kitchen  in  that  dress?" 

"Oh,  no,  indeed!"  It  was  the  delicate  white 
he  liked  so  well,  fresh  as  the  rose  at  her  belt. 
Her  first  care  on  coming  from  her  former  trip  to 
the  kitchen  had  been  to  lay  aside  the  one  which 


144  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

had  been  soiled  there.  "  I  shall  attire  myself  in  a 
manner  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  kitchen.  You 
ought  to  be  able  to  look  into  it ;  or,  no,  on  second 
thought,  I  don't  believe  you  ought." 

It  was  the  plainest  of  prints  in  which  she  next 
appeared,  made  without  a  superfluous  plait  or 
gather  —  small-figured,  dark-colored,  but  fitting 
perfectly,  and  the  plainness  relieved  only  by  an 
edge  of  white  at  the  throat.  Happy  looked  up  on 
her  entrance,  astonished,  but  respectful.  Plain 
and  dark  as  the  dress  was,  it  had  an  unmistakable 
air  which  the  girl  recognized.  No  dress  of  hers 
ever  looked  like  that.  Happy  did  not  know  why. 

Mrs.  Holmes  moved  skillfully  through  the  mul 
tiplied  bewilderments  of  the  kitchen  to  her  land 
lady's  side. 

"Mrs.  Stetson,  may  I  come  and  help  you  with 
the  dinner  ?  I  know  how  to  do  some  things,  and 
you  can  tell  me  about  others  if  you  will." 

Mrs.  Stetson  let  the  spoon  sink  softly  and 
swiftly  out  of  sight  into  the  mixture  she  was 
stirring,  while  she  surveyed  her  visitor  from  head 
to  foot,  amazement  plainly  written  on  every 
feature. 

"  You  don't  mean  it !  "  she  gasped,  rather  than 
said,  at  last. 

"Certainly  I  do.  If  Sally  is  sick,  somebody 
ought  to  do  at  least  some  of  the  things  which 
usually  fall  to  her.  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  help  if 


SHE    ENDEAVORS    IN    A    NEW    LINE.  145 

you  will  let  me.  Where  shall  I  commence?  May 
I  wash  the  dishes  ? " 

"  For  the  land  of  pity !  "  said  Mrs.  Stetson  ; 
"no,  you  mayn't.  Think  of  washing  dishes  in 
that  dress ;  you  look  as  though  you  were  going  to 
meeting  this  minute." 

Mrs.  Holmes  laughed  pleasantly. 

"  It  is  a  ten-cent  calico,  dear  madam,  bought 
and  made  with  special  reference  to  work  in  the 
kitchen.  This  dark  blue  cloth  is  what  is  known 
as  'oil-boiled'  goods,  and  will  take  almost  innu 
merable  washings  and  come  out  fresh  and  bright. 
Mrs.  Stetson,  I  am  sure  that  Happy  and  I  can 
reduce  these  dishes  to  order  in  a  very  short  space 
of  time." 

Without  more  ado  she  set  to  work ;  it  was  quite 
evident  that  if  she  was  to  be  of  any  help  to  the 
dazed  woman,  she  must  take  the  initiative.  As 
for  Happy,  she  was  quite  as  bewildered  as  her 
mistress,  and  looked  on  in  a  condition  of  giggly 
embarrassment  while  Mrs.  Holmes,  with  skill 
ful  fingers,  marshaled  the  sticky  multitude  into 
orderly  ranks ;  good-naturedly  refusing  to  receive 
forks  with  spoons,  or  cups  with  glasses,  when 
Happy,  in  a  spasm  of  helpfulness,  plunged  some 
of  these  miscellaneous  articles  into  her  pan. 

"  Oh,  no,  Happy,  let  us  wash  and  rinse  and  dry 
the  glasses  first,  then  the  silver ;  after  that  the 
cups  and  saucers  may  have  their  turn ;  one  can 


146  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

work  a  great  deal  faster  in  that  way,  besides  hav 
ing  the  dishes  nicer.  Did  you  know  it  ?" 

No,  Happy  did  not  know  that,  nor  any  of  the 
five  hundred  little  things  which  go  to  make  the 
difference  between  skilled  labor  and  slovenly,  half- 
done  service.  Mrs.  Holmes,  as  she  plunged  the 
astonished  glasses  into  their  bath  of  hot  water, 
moralized  over  the  folly  of  it  all.  Why  should 
Happy,  for  instance,  be  expected  to  know  the 
scientific  ways  of  doing  these  things  ?  Who 
would  think  for  a  moment  of  engaging  her  to 
teach  their  children  arithmetic  or  music,  without 
first  discovering  what  degree  of  training  she  had 
had  to  make  her  fit  for  the  work  ?  Yet  kitchen 
girls  were  supposed  to  understand  their  business 
without  having  ever  so  much  as  had  the  oppor 
tunity  to  learn !  Was  it  so  strange  that  the 
majority  of  them  stumbled  into  the  wrong  way, 
and  lived  on,  a  trial  to  their  mistresses  and  a  mis 
ery  to  themselves  ? 

"  If  I  were  a  philanthropist  and  had  fifty  thou 
sand  dollars  to  give  to  some  important  cause  I 
would  go  through  the  country  establishing  cook 
ing  and  housekeeping  schools." 

Chrissy  Hollister  in  her  mother's  dining-room 
had  often  made  some  such  remark  as  this ;  behold 
her  now  in  Mrs.  Stetson's  kitchen  establishing 
her  first  one ! 

"Without  the  'fifty  thousand,'  too,"  she  said  to 


SHE    ENDEAVORS    IN    A    NEW    LINE.  147 

herself,  with  an  amused  little  smile,  while  she 
worked. 

She  was  no  novice  playing  at  reform.  Her 
mother  had  been  a  pattern  housekeeper  in  her 
own  way ;  and  her  daughter  Chrissy,  when  she 
awakened  to  the  fact  which  always  astonishes  a 
sweet-hearted  earnest-souled  young  woman,  that 
she  was  actually  to  have  a  home  of  her  own  to 
order,  set  about  learning  the  best  ways  of  order 
ing  it,  bringing  to  the  work  the  same  untiring 
zeal  and  energy  which  had  made  her  a  power  in 
whatever  direction  she  turned  her  thoughts. 

It  is  true  that  she  had  been  especially  favored ; 
for,  in  addition  to  her  mother's  practical  knowl 
edge  of  all  domestic  matters,  during  the  last  six 
months  of  Chrissy  Hollister's  girlhood  there  had 
been  set  up  in  the  city  where  she  lived,  one  of 
those  institutions  which  have  recently  arisen  to 
bless  humanity,  a  thoroughly  well-regulated  cook 
ing-school,  where  a  certain  number  of  young 
women  could,  for  value  received  in  dollars  and 
cents,  go  through  a  systematic  course  of  instruc 
tion  in  regard  to  all  the  bewildering  routine 
belonging  to  the  kitchen.  It  was  perhaps,  then, 
no  wonder  that  in  the  pretty  home  which  awaited* 
her  in  the  great  city  where  her  husband  lived, 
she  speedily  became  a  mystery  and  an  object  of 
envy  to  her  young  married  friends  because  of  the 
skill  and  ease  with  which  she  attacked  problems 


148  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

which  were  infinitely  worse  to  them  than  any  in 
Euclid. 

"I  do  it,"  she  had  said  once,  in  answer  to  a 
despairing  question  from  a  housekeeper  of  three 
months'  standing,  "just  as  you  play  at  sight  one 
of  Beethoven's  masterpieces,  because  I  have  been 
taught  how.  It  is  a  science,  my  friend,  as  assur 
edly  as  music ;  the  only  trouble  is,  it  is  a  wofully 
neglected  one."  So  now  she  said,  in  answer  to 
Happy's  admiring  "  Law,  Mis'  Holmes,  how  do 
you  do  it  so  quick  and  so  nice":  "Because  I 
have  learned,  Happy.  In  my  own  house  I  made 
a  regular  study  of  washing  the  breakfast  dishes. 
For  the  first  six  weeks  of  my  housekeeping  I 
could  get  no  help ;  and  I  used  to  plan  ways  of 
arranging  the  dishes  so  that  they  would  come  in 
regular  order,  the  more  delicate  and  least  soiled 
ones  first;  and  I  planned  where  to  set  them  so  as 
to  make  the  fewest  moves  possible.  I  changed 
my  arrangements  every  morning  for  a  week,  until 
I  had  the  matter  reduced  to  perfection." 

Happy  chuckled :  "It  seems  awful  funny,"  she 
said  ;  "  I  sh'd  as  soon  think  of  one  of  the  roses 
off  the  big  bush  in  the  corner  out  there  comin'  in 
and  washin'  the  dishes,  and  knowin'  how;  and  it 
seems  awful  funny  to  think  of  your  thinkin'  about 
it,  and  planning  ways  to  do  it.  Why,  I  don't  do 
that  myself;  I  don't  think  about  them  a  mite 
more  than  I  can  help ;  I  keep  goin'  on  with  the 


SHE    ENDEAVORS    IN    A    NEW    LINE.  149 

last  story  I  read,  all  the  while  I  am  doing  the 
dishes ;  I  try  to  plan  what  he'll  say  next,  and  what 
she'll  do,  and  all  of  'em  ;  and  sometimes  I  get  that 
busy  over  'em  that  I  forgit  what  I'm  about." 

Mrs.  Holmes  could  readily  believe  it;  also,  she 
could  have  wept  over  the  poverty  of  poor  Happy's 
life,  and  her  pitiful  attempts  at  making  pleasure. 
"It  will  not  do  to  let  one's  mind  go  much  away 
from  one's  work,"  she  said,  gently,  "until  the 
work,  in  all  its  details,  has  been  thoroughly 
mastered,  and  there  is  no  new  thing  to  learn 
about  it ;  then,  indeed,  some  work  becomes  a  sort 
of  habit,  and  one's  fingers  can  be  trusted  to  carry 
it  out  to  perfection,  while  one's  thoughts  are  busy 
elsewhere.  I  studied  French  in  that  way,  last 
winter." 

"  You  did ! "  said  Happy,  in  unutterable  awe 
and  admiration,  holding  her  drying-cloth  poised  in 
the  air  while  she  stared  and  admired. 

"Yes.  I  would  not  keep  those  dishes  waiting 
for  a  moment,  Happy;  the  rinsing-water  is  too 
hot  for  that ;  take  them  out  one  by  one  and  let 
them  drain ;  no,  do  not  attempt  to  dry  them  now ; 
see  how  wet  you  will  get  your  cloth  almost  imme 
diately  ;  by  the  time  we  have  the  salver  full,  those 
first  ones  will  be  almost  dry ;  they  will  need  but 
a  touch  to  finish  them.  Mr.  Holmes  was  teach 
ing  me  French;  and  I  lived  a  very  busy  life,  with 
not  much  time  for  study;  so  I  planned  that  when 


I5O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

I  was  making  my  bed  and  setting  my  room  in 
order,  I  would  learn  a  French  verb.  I  fastened 
the  book  open  on  the  mantel,  and  looked  at  it 
when  I  passed  that  way,  and  managed  very  nicely 
both  work  and  study ;  but  that  was  after  I  had 
mastered  all  the  details  of  the  room,  and  knew 
exactly  what  needed  doing  and  how  to  do  it.  I 
remember,  one  week,  I  wished  to  change  the 
arrangement  of  the  spread  and  the  pillows  on  my 
bed,  and  I  was  obliged  to  close  the  French  gram 
mar  for  two  mornings  and  give  attention  to  the 
new  way ;  otherwise  I  would  become  so  absorbed 
in  the  study  as  to  forget  it." 

"You  are  an  awful  funny  woman  !  "  said  Happy, 
with  perfect  frankness ;  "  I  never  see  any  one  the 
least  mite  like  you  before." 

During  that  busy  morning,  Mrs.  Stetson,  to 
judge  from  the  expression  of  her  face,  must  have 
felt  the  same.  Mrs.  Holmes  worked  steadily, 
skillfully,  and  with  a  swiftness  unknown  to  that 
region,  going  from  one  task  to  another  with  the 
air  of  one  who  had  done  such  work  before, 
and  knew  instinctively  what  would  be  needed 
next. 

"  I  declare  for  it,"  said  her  landlady,  at  last,  her 
admiration  breaking  all  bounds,  "I  most  wish  you 
was  a  poor  widow,  with  nothin'  to  do  but  house 
work,  to  earn  your  living,  and  I'd  hire  you  quicker 
than  a  cat  can  wink,  and  pay  you  the  biggest 


SHE    ENDEAVORS    IN    A    NEW    LINE.  151 

wages  ever  was  paid  in  this  kitchen ;  see  if  I 
wouldn't ! " 

Mrs.  Holmes  could  hardly  repress  visible  mani 
festation  of  the  cold  shiver  which  ran  through  her 
frame  over  that  terrible  word  "widow."  She  had 
come  too  near  the  shadow  of  it,  not  to  feel  a  dart 
from  its  quiver  of  pain. 

"What  is  the  next  thing?"  she  asked,  making 
quick  effort  to  turn  Mrs.  Stetson's  thoughts  from 
herself.  "I  notice  that  your  bread  dough  is  light. 
May  I  mold  it  into  loaves,  or  do  you  prefer  to  do 
that  yourself?" 

"Oh,  land!"  said  Mrs.  Stetson,  "you  don't  say 
you  know  how  to  make  bread !  Well,  I  don't, 
and  that's  the  truth.  I've  been  feeling  my  way 
along  with  it,  and  wondering  how  it  was  going  to 
come  out,  and  it  has  hung  like  a  great  stone 
around  my  neck,  all  this  morning.  You  see, 
Sally,  she  understands  it,  and  always  tends  to  it, 
and  I  never  sensed  the  idea  that  she  might  get 
sick.  I've  always  been  in  luck  having  girls  who 
knew  how  to  make  bread ;  I've  never  done  it  more 
than  half  a  dozen  times  myself,  and  made  a  failure 
of  it  then,  pretty  much;  and  since  you  are  so 
powerful  good  and  kind,  and  I'm  sure  I'll  never 
forget  it  of  you  if  I  live  to  be  as  old  as  Methu 
selah —  which  I  hope  to  the  land  I  won't  —  if 
you  will  knead  it  up  and  get  it  into  loaves,  I'll  be 
gladder  of  that  than  of  all  the  rest  put  together." 


152  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

The  younger  woman  looked  with  wondering 
pity  upon  this  housekeeper  of  a  quarter  of  a  cen 
tury  who  yet  had  not  learned  how  to  make  the 
one  important  article  of  daily  food !  Then,  with 
out  more  delay,  she  proceeded  to  the  task  of 
"kneading  up"  the  bread.  How  glad  was  she 
that  her  own  careful  hands  had  washed  those 
bread-tins  but  a  half  hour  before ! 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

SHE    CALLS    LEMON    PIE    TO    HER    AID. 

THE  last  smooth  loaf  was  receiving  its  final 
patting,  preparatory  to  being  tucked  under 
covers,  while  Mrs.  Stetson  stood  at  a  little 
distance,  soliloquizing ;  arms  akimbo,  tired,  wrink 
led  face,  with  a  dab  of  flour  on  one  cheek  and  a 
streak  of  soot  on  the  other.  Such  was  the  picture 
which  she  presented  to  the  trim  young  woman 
who  patted  the  bread,  and  looked  out  at  her  from 
the  half-open  door. 

"What  in  the  name  of  wonder  will  I  get  for 
dessert?"  Mrs.  Stetson  pronounced  the  word  as 
though  she  were  speaking  of  the  plains  of  Sahara. 
"I  wish  to  the  land  folks  didn't  have  to  have 
desert  every  blessed  day  of  their  lives  !  It  hasn't 
got  any  reason  nor  sense  in  it,  to  my  way  of  think 
ing.  Eat  a  good  big  dinner  of  roast  beef,  and  two 
kinds  of  potatoes,  and  beans,  or  something,  and 
pickles  and  bread  and  jelly,  and  every  thing  they 
can  get,  and  then  begin  all  over  again,  with  fresh 

153 


154  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

plates  and  all,  and  swallow  down  something  sweet 
and  sticky  —  I'd  like  to  know  who  first  got  up 
such  a  ridiculous  fashion,  any  way !  But  there  is 
no  use  in  talking;  folks  do  it,  and  so  I  s'pose 
folks  will  keep  on  doing  it  to  the  end  of  time. 
But  I  don't  know  more  than  the  babes  in  the 
woods  what  to  have,  nor  how  to  make  it." 

Mrs.  Holmes,  hearing  this  forlorn  confession, 
stepped  forward  for  a  better  view  of  the  speaker, 
the  better  to  entertain  Stuart  with  the  entire 
scene.  It  was  impossible  not  to  be  amused,  but, 
as  she  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  worried  face  which 
had  grown  prematurely  old,  it  was  also  impossible 
not  to  be  sorry  for  her.  Mrs.  Holmes  considered. 
She  had  been  long  gone  from  her  husband,  only 
taking  occasional  trips  to  see  that  he  was  comfort 
able.  She  had  been  very  busy  and  was  growing 
weary,  despite  the  fact  that  youth  and  a  perfectly 
healthful  body  were  her  strongholds.  Should 
she? 

A  long-drawn,  almost  hopeless  sigh  closed  the 
soliloquy  in  the  other  room,  and  decided  the  list 
ener.  That  sigh  covered  other  worries  than  what 
should  be  had  for  dessert,  and  she  who  knew 
what  some  of  them  were,  and  felt  powerless  to 
help,  was  yet  determined  to  lift  where  she  could. 
She  took  thoughtful  care  for  the  loaves  which  had 
now  become  her  pride,  and  for  which  she  had  con 
ceived  that  mingled  affection  and  solicitude  which 


SHE    CALLS    LEMON    PIE    TO    HER    AID.          155 

every  good  bread-maker  understands ;  then  turned 
to  the  mistress,  whose  face  was  still  puckered  over 
her  problem. 

"Mrs.  Stetson,  I  have  been  looking  at  some 
beautiful  lemons  while  I  was  at  work.  Do  your 
boarders  all  like  lemon  pie,  and  do  you  care  to 
have  me  make  some  for  dessert  ? " 

The  instant  lifting  of  the  shadows  on  the  worn 
face  would  have  been  answer  enough,  but  Mrs. 
Stetson  broke  into  another  torrent  of  words. 

"  I  declare  for  it  if  you  was  an  angel  come 
down  from  heaven,  you  couldn't  do  any  more  than 
you  have  this  morning,  nor  half  so  much!  I 
don't  suppose  the  angels  know  how  to  wash 
dishes,  and  make  bread  and  pies ;  at  least,  I  hope 
to  the  land  that  they  don't  have  to  do  it  where 
they  live.  Like  lemon  pie  ?  I  should  say  they 
did.  Every  last  one  of  them  looks  as  though  he 
had  had  a  fortune  left  him  when  he  sees  a  piece 
coming.  And  as  for  Liph  —  well,  I  never  in  all 
my  days  seen  any  one  so  crazy  after  any  thing  as 
he  is  after  lemon  pie.  I'd  have  it  oftener  than  I 
do,  jest  for  him,  if  they  didn't  all  like  it  so  ever 
lasting  well,  and  want  two  pieces  around,  some  of 
'em,  and  boarding-houses  can't  stand  that,  Mis' 
Holmes  ;  not  at  my  prices.  But  lemons  is  get 
ting  plenty  now,  and  cheap  ;  and  there's  eggs  and 
things  plenty,  too ;  I  never  thought  of  lemon  pie. 
But  I'll  make  it,  Mis'  Holmes,  and  thank  you  for 


156  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

putting  me  in  mind.  I  can't  make  as  good  a  crust 
as  Sally,  and  that's  a  fact ;  but  I  ain't  afraid  but  I 
can  make  one  that  they'll  eat." 

Mrs.  Holmes  had  her  own  opinion  of  Sally's  pie 
crust,  and  if  her  landlady's  was  not  so  good,  why, 
then  — .  She  made  haste  to  speak.  "  I  would 
just  as  soon  make  it  for  you,  if  you  choose.  I 
used  to  make  lemon  pies  for  my  mother.  It  will 
seem  quite  like  home  to  make  them  again.  I 
will  just  run  up  stairs  and  see  if  my  husband 
needs  any  thing,  then  I  will  attend  to  the  pies. 
You  are  tired,  and  have  quite  enough  to  do 
besides." 

There  was  a  smile  on  her  face,  and  her  step  was 
light  as  she  went  away  ;  she  did  not  feel  so  tired 
as  she  had  but  a  moment  before.  One  sentence  in 
Mrs.  Stetson's  flow  of  words  gave  her  hope  and 
courage:  "I'd  have  it  oftener  than  I  do,  jest  for 
Liph."  There  spoke  the  mother-heart.  It  was 
another  proof  that  Mrs.  Stetson  had  by  no  means 
lost  her  love  for  her  all  but  ruined  boy ;  it 
afforded  also  a  hope  that,  through  the  medium  of 
lemon  pie,  a  hint  might  in  some  way  be  conveyed 
to  the  mother  of  a  better  way  than  the  one  she 
was  taking. 

"  I  am  conducting  my  Christian  Endeavor  meet 
ing,"  was  Mrs.  Holmes'  statement  to  her  husband 
as  she  held  his  glass  of  milk,  while  he  settled  him 
self  on  the  piazza. 


SHE    CALLS    LEMON    PIE    TO    HER    AID.          157 

"The  subjects  before  us  are  dish-washing, 
bread-making  and  lemon  pies." 

"Capital  subjects,"  he  said,  returning  her  merry 
smile;  "there  certainly  has  to  be  a  great  deal  of 
'endeavoring'  over  the  first  two;  I  clon't  know 
about  the  'Christian'  part  of  it." 

"I  do.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  the  'Christian' 
part  needed  for  those  occupations;  more  than  you 
gentlemen,  who  never  have  to  endure  the  trials 
connected  with  them,  know  any  thing  about." 

"  You  are  mistaken  in  your  premises  ;  I  know  a 
great  deal  about  both.  When  I  was  in  college  I 
boarded  myself,  and  washed  the  dishes  regularly 
and  thoroughly  every  Saturday.  There  were 
seven  of  them.  I  could  never  understand  how 
there  came  to  be  so  many,  when  I  used  the  same 
plate  for  each  meal,  and  drank  neither  tea  nor 
coffee ;  but  there  certainly  were.  I  remember 
particularly  a  certain  bowl,  I  think  it  was,  which 
was  always  greasy.  I  am  sure  I  do  not  know 
why;  there  were  very  few  things  on  my  bill  of 
fare  which  contained  any  grease.  Oh,  I  know  all 
about  housekeeping,  and  I  assure  you  I  think  it 
requires  a  great  deal  of  grace  to  get  through  with 
it ;  mine  did.  I  do  not  know  about  bread,"  he 
added  meditatively;  "I  never  really  tried  to  make 
any,  but  I  have  watched  others,  and  it  looked 
rather  easy  to  me ;  however,  I  tried  griddle  cakes 
once,  and  they  were  a  total  failure." 


158  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"Oh,  Stuart,"  said  his  wife,  dropping  into  a 
low  seat  before  him,  in  a  bubble  of  laughter,  "did 
you  really  live  in  such  dreadful  fashion  when  you 
were  in  college  ?  You  never  told  me  about  it." 

"Not  at  all,"  he  said,  composedly  sipping  his 
milk.  "I  lived  elegantly;  fared  sumptuously 
every  day.  I  used  to  have  my  plate  fresh  for 
breakfast,  and  turn  it  over  and  use  the  other  side 
at  dinner-time." 

"  Oh,  horrible  !  But  how  did  you  get  it  clean  ? 
I  thought  you  washed  dishes  only  once  a  week." 

"That  was  all,"  he  said  firmly;  "I  set  my  foot 
like  a  flint  against  doing  it  oftener.  Welland 
wanted  to  do  it  on  class  days,  but  I  never  yielded 
an  inch  to  him.  He  was  my  chum,  and  boarded 
with  me  for  awhile.  He  is  a  lawyer  now ;  lives 
in  Chicago,  and  has  several  courses  with  his  din 
ners.  Why,  about  the  plate,  that  was  easily  man 
aged.  I  rubbed  it  off  very  carefully  after  dinner 
with  a  bit  of  clean  paper,  and  it  was  all  ready  for 
the  next  morning's  meal.  We  eschewed  suppers 
as  being  injurious  to  our  digestive  organs.  What 
are  you  doing  down  stairs,  Chrissy,  and  what  is 
the  end  in  view?" 

"The  immediate  end  is  lemon  pies,  as  I  told 
you,"  said  his  wife,  rising,  "and  they  will  be  warm 
and  horrid  if  I  do  not  have  them  in  the  oven  very 
soon.  As  to  the  end  in  the  distance,  it  is  a 
Christian  Endeavor  meeting,  I  tell  you.  What 


SHE    CALLS    LEMON    PIE    TO    HER    AID.          159 

will  result  remains  for  the  future  to  tell ;  but  I 
expect  results." 

"  I  do  not  doubt  it ;  you  could  not  give  a  fellow 
a  piece  of  one  of  them,  I  suppose,  in  the  shape  of 
lemon  pie?" 

"  No,  indeed  !  "  she  called  back  to  him  from  the 
hall,  "it  would  be  'injurious  to  your  digestive 
organs  '." 

"Your  son  likes  plenty  of  sugar  in  them,  I  sup 
pose  ? "  she  said  to  Mrs.  Stetson,  a  few  minutes 
later,  stirring  the  sticky  mixture  while  that 
woman  looked  on  admiringly;  "young  men  are 
nearly  always  fond  of  sweet  things.  It  is  so  nice 
in  you  to  think  of  him  in  your  cooking.  You  will 
have  to  tell  him  how  you  planned  these  pies 
expressly  for  him." 

"Me  tell  him!"  said  the  gray-haired  mother, 
pressing  her  thin  lips  together  fiercely;  "not 
much  will  I  !  I  slave  for  him  night  and  day,  and 
I  cook  things  a-purpose  for  him  often  enough  ;  it 
is  a  kind  of  a  second  nature,  I  guess ;  but  I  ain't 
such  a  fool  as  to  tell  him  so.  When  he's  going  to 
destruction  right  before  my  eyes,  I  ain't  going 
to  pet  him,  and  make  him  believe  I'm  tickled  to 
death  about  it.  I  tell  him  right  out  plain  a  dozen 
times  a  day  exactly  what  I  think  of  him ;  and 
there  ain't  no  petting  in  it ;  he  can't  accuse  me  of 
not  speaking  the  truth  to  him,  and  doing  my  best 
to  keep  him  from  ruin." 


I6O  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

Was  this  the  "chance"  for  which  this  young 
fisher  of  souls  had  spent  her  morning  in  the  warm 
and  crowded  kitchen  ?  She  tried  to  feel  her  way 
cautiously. 

"Oh,  dear  madam,  I  am  sure  you  are  wrong 
about  one  thing.  No  boy  was  ever  yet  injured 
by  his  mother's  tenderness.  Plain  speaking  they 
need,  all  of  them,  I  suppose  ;  but  '  speaking  the 
truth  in  love,'  that  is  what  people  gone  astray 
need  more  than  any  thing  else  in  life,  I  believe." 

She  winced  inwardly  as  she  said  the  words, 
remembering  how  very  little  love  had  been  min 
gled  with  her  plain,  strong  words  to  Liph  on  the 
one  occasion  of  her  talking  with  him. 

"  Humph  ! "  said  Mrs.  Stetson,  with  a  hard 
sneer.  "  S'pose  he  was  your  boy  and  treated  you 
as  he  does  me,  do  you  believe  you'd  molly-coddle 
him  ? " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  firmly, 
"because  I  do  not  know  whether,  under  trying 
circumstances,  I  should  do  right  or  wrong ;  but  I 
know  perfectly  well  what  it  would  be  right  to  do. 
To  hate  the  sin  and  to  use  all  our  powers  of  gen 
tleness  and  patience  with  the  sinner,  is  what  God 
does,  dear  madam,  and  He  is  our  example.  I  am 
so  sure  it  would  do  your  boy  good  to  have  some 
of  the  gentleness,  that  I  mean  to  tell  him,  the 
very  first  opportunity  I  get,  that  his  mother 
had  lemon  pies  for  to-day's  dinner  because  he 


SHE  CALLS  LEMON  PIE  TO  HER  AID.    l6l 

was  fond  of  them  and  she  wanted  to  please 
him." 

They  had  the  kitchen  to  themselves,  Happy 
having  gone  to  set  the  table.  Mrs.  Stetson  was 
beating  eggs  while  she  talked,  or  rather  while  she 
stood  silent  beside  the  younger  woman  ;  presently 
she  seized  the  corner  of  her  long-suffering  apron 
and  wiped  away  a  straggling  tear,  as  she  said  in  a 
half-choked  voice  : 

"You  think  I'm  hard  on  him,  then?" 

Can  people  pray  and  speak  to  a  mortal  at  the 
same  moment  ?  Chrissy  Holmes  feels  sure  that 
they  can. 

"Poor  mother,"  she  said,  and  her  voice  was  like 
music  in  its  gentleness,  "  forgive  me,  but  I  think 
you  are.  Not  in  your  heart,  but  in  your  words. 
He  needs  to  see  represented  in  you  the  forgiving 
love  of  God,  the  Savior  of  sinners.  A  mother's 
love  and  tenderness  are  perhaps  the  most  vivid 
pictures  of  God  in  Christ  that  men,  especially,  can 
ever  know.  I  am  sure  your  boy  has  his  seasons 
of  hating  himself,  and  of  longing  to  be  other  than 
he  is.  If  at  such  moments  he  could  recall  his 
mother's  look  of  infinite  yearning,  patience  and 
desire,  what  might  it  not  do  for  him  ?" 

Was  she  talking  beyond  the  reach  of  this  uncul 
tured  woman  ?  or  was  there  a  culture  of  the  heart 
which  love  would  translate?  If  she  had  not 
utterly  mistaken,  there  were  strong  depths  to  this 


l62  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

rugged  nature.  There  was  silence  for  so  long, 
that  Mrs.  Holmes,  praying  still,  ventured  to 
glance  again  into  the  worn,  seamed  face ;  it  was 
working  painfully. 

"I  am  as  sure  as  I  stand  here  that  I  could  die 
for  the  boy,"  she  said  at  last,  struggling  to  speak 
quietly;  "but  it  has  appeared  to  me  that  I  ought 
to  keep  it  before  him  what  an  awful  disappoint 
ment  and  disgrace  and  shame  he  is  to  me ;  and 
how  I  have  slaved,  and  all  for  nothing!  " 

Her  voice  kept  rising  with  her  words,  until  the 
sound  of  tears  went  out  of  it  and  there  was  only 
fierceness  left. 

"Do  you  think  he  does  not  know  that?"  said 
the  younger  woman,  keeping  her  voice  low  and 
tender  and  solemn.  "It  is  the  thing  which 
at  times  drives  him  to  utter  self-loathing  and 
despair,  and  sends  him  deeper  into  the  mire.  I 
am  certain,  dear  madam,  that  he  needs  to  hear 
his  mother's  voice  low  and  tremulous,  as  it  used 
to  sound  when  he  was  young  and  innocent,  and 
meant  to  be  your  strong  tower  of  support.  You 
know  he  had  such  plans  once,  don't  you?  He 
needs  to  have  their  memory  revived  by  the  look 
on  your  face,  and  the  love  in  your  voice." 

The  eggs  were  abandoned ;  Mrs.  Stetson  was 
sobbing  now ;  whether  the  lemon  pie  had  a  lovely 
foam  over  it  or  not,  the  tears  must  have  their  way. 
The  younger  worker  gently  possessed  herself  of 


SHE    CALLS    LEMON    PIE    TO    HER    AID.          163 

the  dish  and  went  on  with  the  manipulations, 
while  the  other  sobbed  out : 

"It's  of  no  use  to  talk  ;  I  can't  do  it.  I'm  that 
wrought  upon  and  mad  and  discouraged  when  I 
think  of  what  he'was  and  meant  to  be,  and  what 
he  is,  that  I  can't,  to  save  my  life,  help  flying  out 
at  him  and  giving  him  all  the  tongue  I've  got ; 
and  he  deserves  it,  too  !  " 

"Mrs.  Stetson,  there  is  a  way  to  help  it.  There 
is  only  one  way,  I  believe,  for  sorrow  such  as 
yours;  all  minor  helps  sink  into  insignificance. 
What  Liph  needs  more  than  any  thing  else  is  his 
mother's  prayers.  You  said  you  would  die  for 
him,  and  I  believe  you.  What  you  are  called 
upon  to  do,  instead,  is  to  live  for  him,  and  to 
pray  for  him.  Give  yourself  utterly  to  God,  dear 
friend,  and  cry  to  Him  for  the  salvation  of  his  soul. 
He  will  help  you  ;  I  am  sure  of  it.  I  know  Him 
well ;  he  never  failed  a  soul  who  asked  ;  he  never 
will.  He  can  speak  to  Liph  in  a  voice  so  full  of 
power  that  the  boy  must  hear  and  think  and 
decide.  If  you  will  pray  for  your  son  with  the 
strong  crying  of  those  who  mean  it,  and  then  rep 
resent  God  in  his  mercy  and  patience  to  him,  I 
I  feel  in  my  soul  that  I  have  the  right  to  tell  you 
God  will  get  hold  of  him  and  save  him.  Will  you 
do  it  ? " 

Mrs.  Stetson  had  retired  to  the  window,  had 
buried  her  gray  head  in  the  apron,  regardless  of 


164  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

dabs  of  egg  and  flour  and  butter  with  which  it 
was  besprinkled,  and  was  vainly  trying  to  regain 
self-control.  A  moment  of  prayerful  silence,  then 
the  young  worker  spoke  again  : 

"Dear  madam,  I  know  you  will  forgive  the  plain 
words  I  have  said,  because  from  my  soul  I  long 
for  your  son's  salvation,  and  mean  to  pray  and 
work  for  it ;  and  I  believe  you  will  try  to  save  him 
in  the  way  I  am  proposing.  I  feel  so  sure  of  it 
that  I  am  going  to  ask  you  something  further. 
We  are  now  almost  ready  for  dinner;  every  thing 
is  in  shape  and  progressing  nicely,  and  I  can  man 
age  the  whole  to  your  entire  satisfaction,  I  am 
sure.  If  now  you  are  willing  to  trust  me,  to 
promise  to  join  me  in  this  matter,  and  go  to  God 
on  your  knees  for  your  boy,  and  never  give  him 
up  again  while  God  gives  you  breath  to  pray,  then 
please  go  away  to  your  room,  and  think  it  over, 
and  pray  it  over.  If  you  will  go  up  stairs  now,  I 
will  take  it  as  your  answer  to  my  plea." 

Would  she?  Mrs.  Holmes  felt  her  nerves  quiv 
ering  almost  as  one  in  a  chill,  so  great  was  her 
desire  and  her  fear.  Like  a  statue  stood  the 
woman  at  the  window,  while  one,  two,  three  min 
utes  passed ;  then  turning  suddenly,  without  drop 
ping  her  apron  from  her  eyes,  she  strode  across 
the  room  and  vanished  up  the  back  stairs.  Mrs. 
Holmes  drew  a  long,  quivering  breath  and  felt  as 
though  she  must  fly  up  the  other  stairs  into  her 


SHE    CALLS    LEMON    PIE    TO    HER    AID.          165 

husband's  arms,  and  cry.  But  of  course  that 
could  not  be  done,  on  Stuart's  account.  Besides, 
there  were  pies  to  bake  and  potatoes  and  turnips 
to  mash,  as  well  as  numberless  other  things  to  be 
done! 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

SHE    AMAZES    ONE    OF    THEM. 

LOOK  here,  Mis'  Holmes,  what  are  you  doing 
it  for?" 

It  was  Happy's  voice,  bewildered,  almost  awe- 
stricken.  In  her  hands  she  brandished  a  knife,  a 
spoon  and  three  forks,  which  had  just  been  ban 
ished  by  Mrs.  Holmes  from  the  neatly  laid  table, 
because  they  were  not  bright  enough  to  warrant 
their  moving  in  such  society.  Happy  had  for  the 
third  time,  under  Mrs.  Holmes'  instruction,  taken 
off  some  of  the  dishes  in  order  to  straighten  the 
cloth  ;  but  so  very  gentle,  even  genial,  had  been 
the  voice  and  manner  of  her  new  mentor  that 
Happy  had  not  even  once  frowned  nor  twitched 
her  shoulders  ;  on  the  contrary,  she  had  developed 
a  continuous  tendency  to  laugh. 

"You  see,  Happy,"  said  her  teacher,  as  for  the 
third  time  the  cloth  was  re-arranged,  "  it  will 
never  do  to  have  this  table-cloth  awry ;  it  is  a 
166 


SHE  AMAZES  ONE  OF  THEM.        l6/ 

very  fine  one,  and  is  ironed  beautifully ;  but  to 
lay  it  crooked  would  spoil  the  effect,  and  give  us 
an  impression  of  disorder  and  discomfort." 

Happy  surveyed  the  table-cloth  with  curiosity; 
it  was  one  of  the  marvels  of  this  eventful  Satur 
day  morning.  But  a  few  moments  before  Mrs. 
Stetson  left  the  kitchen  she  had  made  a  dash  into 
the  dining-room,  surveyed  with  disdain  Happy's 
leisurely  efforts  at  setting  the  table,  given  a  short, 
sharp  order  to  the  effect  that  the  few  dishes 
already  in  place  be  removed  at  once,  snatched  at 
the  soiled  and  much-worn  cloth,  cast  it  in  a  flimsy 
heap  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  and  then  pro 
duced  from  her  store  this  marvel  of  whiteness 
and  fineness.  In  vain  Happy  ventured  to  sug 
gest  that  it  wasn't  the  day  for  clean  things. 

"Yes,  it  is,  too,"  said  the  landlady,  sharply; 
"it's  the  day  for  clean  things  of  all  sorts!  I 
guess  I  can  have  a  clean  table-cloth  Saturday,  if 
I  want  it.  Go  and  ut  that  rag  in  the  dirty 
clothes  and  set  this  table  nice,  or  I'll  be  after 
you." 

To  Happy's  comfort  and  the  table's  benefit,  it 
was  Mrs.  Holmes,  instead,  who  had  been  "after" 
the  disorderly  girl,  and,  by  dint  of  patient  direc 
tion  and  patient  determination  that  the  thing 
should  be  done  right,  had  at  last  succeeded  in 
having  the  table-cloth  properly  straightened,  and 
laid  without  a  wrinkle.  But  Happy's  wonder, 


1 68  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

which  had  been  rising  all  the  morning,  now 
reached  its  climax,  and  she  arrested  proceedings 
by  that  short,  pertinent  question  : 

"  Look  here,  Mis'  Holmes,  what  are  you  doing 
it  for  ? " 

"Doing  what,  Happy?  Set  the  dishes  in  place 
as  rapidly  as  possible,  please,  as  we  have  very 
little  more  time." 

"Doing  the  hull  of  it,  Mis'  Holmes;  the  bread, 
and  dish-washing,  and  every  thing.  Nobody  ever 
did  so  before,  not  in  this  kitchen,  and  it  ain't 
because  you're  a  friend  to  her.  She  sassed  you 
only  this  morning  right  to  your  face,  and  she  says 
you  are  stuck  up,  and  she  can't  cook  fine  enough 
to  suit  you,  and  you  fuss  over  things.  Now, 
what's  it  for?" 

It  seemed  desirable  to  respond  to  the  look  on 
the  bewildered  girl's  face,  if  not  to  the  words  in 
which  she  voiced  her  perplexities.  Evidently  the 
simple  bit  of  Christianity  involved  in  reaching  out 
a  helping  hand  had  thrown  Happy's  brain  into  a 
whirl.  She  was  utterly  at  a  loss  to  discover  a 
motive  for  such  action. 

"Lay  the  mats  in  this  way,  Happy,  and  the 
glasses  want  to  be  set  so.  Don't  you  think  they 
look  better  than  they  do  standing  as  though  they 
were  thrown  on  the  table  ?  Why  have  I  been 
helping  Mrs.  Stetson  and  you  a  little  while  this 
morning,  do  you  mean  ?  Do  you  remember  what 


SHE  AMAZES  ONE  OF  THEM.         169 

I  said  to  you  a  few  days  ago  about  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  ?  I  am  doing  it  for  him." 

"My  land!"  said  Happy,  "I  don't  know  what 
you  mean  no  more  than  if  you  talked  Dutch. 
What  could  He  care  about  washing  dishes,  and  all 
Mis'  Stetson's  other  work?" 

"But  he  does  care!  Don't  you  know  I  told 
you?  He  cares  for  her;  knows  just  how  troubled 
she  is  to-day,  and  how  many  hard  things  she  has 
to  bear.  He  wants  her  helped  and  comforted,  and 
he  sent  me  to  do  what  I  could." 

"  It  beats  all ! "  burst  forth  Happy  again,  after 
a  moment's  puzzled  staring.  "I  never  heard  any 
body  that  was  stark  crazy  talk  as  queer  as  you  do. 
Any  body  would  think  that  that  One  you  talk 
about  was  up  stairs  in  your  room  this  minute,  and 
had  sent  you  down  here  to  work." 

"Which  is  the  simple  truth,  my  girl"  —albeit 
the  lady  smiled  while  she  spoke ;  Happy's  way  of 
putting  the  truth  was  rather  unique  —  "He  is  up 
stairs  in  my  room,  and  down  here  with  us,  and 
in  the  kitchen,  and  everywhere.  Do  you  not 
remember  that  He  sees  all  persons  and  things,  and 
is  interested  in  our  smallest  acts  ?  Why,  Happy, 
when  He  was  on  earth  He  went  about  all  the  time 
doing  kindnesses  for  any  who  needed,  and  would 
let  Him  help.  Have  you  not  read  His  life?  You 
like  to  read  stories  ;  some  of  the  strangest  stories 
ever  written  you  will  find  in  that  book," 


HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

"The  Bible  is  an  awful  big  book,"  said  Happy, 
discontentedly,  "and  I  don't  know  much  about  it ; 
but  I  don't  understand  it  a  mite  more  than  I  did. 
He  wouldn't  wash  dishes  and  make  pies." 

"He  would  do  whatever  the  soul  He  was  help 
ing,  needed  most,  Happy.  At  one  time  He  washed 
the  feet  of  twelve  tired,  dusty  men,  to  teach  them 
not  to  shrink  from  the  humblest  duties ;  and  He 
said  that  His  life  here  was  to  be  an  example  to 
His  followers.  I  am  one  of  his  followers;  that  is 
why  I  try  to  help." 

"  I'd  be  willing  to  help  people  that  I  liked," 
declared  Happy,  in  growing  discontent.  "I'd 
wash  dishes,  or  scrub,  or  do  any  thing  for  you, 
Mis'  Holmes,  but  she's  so  dreadful  cross  and 
snappy,  and  ready  to  bite  you  if  you  do  the  least 
thing.  How  would  you  like  to  have  your  ears 
boxed,  and  you  a  great  big,  grown-up  girl  ?  I 
guess  you  wouldn't  have  washed  her  dishes  if 
she'd  'a'  done  that  to  you." 

Happy,  scowling,  was  a  curiosity.  She  had 
evidently  felt  her  disgrace  of  the  morning  keenly. 
Poor  Mrs.  Stetson  would  be  likely  to  have  even  a 
harder  time  with  her  hereafter,  unless  some  influ 
ence  outside  of  herself  could  reach  and  recon 
struct  this  girl.  They  were  both  in  the  kitchen 
now,  and  the  self-appointed  cook  was  giving  care 
ful  attention  to  the  dozen  or  so  "last  things" 
which  go  to  make  or  mar  a  dinner.  It  seemed  a 


SHE    AMAZES    ONE    OF     THEM.  I /I 

most  unpropitious  time  for  a  lesson  in  theology. 
There  were  even  those  who  would  have  deemed 
it  shading  on  the  irreverent  to  attempt  to  talk  of 
religious  matters  under  such  circumstances.  But 
Chrissy  Holmes'  religion  pervaded  every  thought 
and  act  of  her  life,  and  assuredly  had  to  do  with 
the  kitchen  fully  as  much  as  with  the  parlor. 

"  I  have  sometimes  been  able  to  conduct  myself 
in  a  Christian  manner  in  a  well-ordered  parlor, 
without  having  a  realizing  sense  of  the  presence 
and  help  of  Jesus  Christ,"  she  said  once  to  a  lady 
who  was  exclaiming  over  the  impropriety  of 
"bringing  religion  down  to  the  level  of  the  com 
monplace,"  "but  when  my  duty  lies  in  the  kitchen, 
especially  at  the  nerve-distracting  hour  of  'dishing 
up,'  I  have  discovered  that  I  need  a  special  meas 
ure  of  the  grace  of  God  to  keep  my  voice  gentle 
and  my  face  unruffled." 

There  were  people  in  her  own  station  in  life 
who  thought  Mrs.  Holmes  "just  a  little  queer, 
you  know  "  ;  perhaps  it  was  not  strange  that  she  so 
impressed  poor  Happy.  She  knew  exactly  how 
much  milk  she  was  adding  to  the  gravy ;  neverthe 
less,  she  was  considering  at  the  moment  how  to 
make  a  solemn,  far-reaching  truth  plain  to  the 
girl  who  held  the  platter. 

"Happy,"  she  said,  "I  have  been  thinking 
about  your  being  willing  to  help  people  whom 
you  liked ;  that  is  a  very  natural  state  of  mind, 


1/2  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

and  there  is  a  sense  in  which  we  must  always 
have  more  pleasure  in  serving  those  whom  we 
love  than  any  others.  God  meant  that  it  should 
be  so,  in  order  that  many  duties  might  also  be 
pleasures ;  but  that  other  One  of  whom  we  were 
speaking  —  your  example  and  mine,  you  know  — 
served  steadily  and  patiently  those  who  scolded 
and  threatened  and  mocked ;  yes,  even  those  who 
struck  at  Him  not  only,  but  actually  spit  in  His 
face!" 

"Oh,  my  land!"  said  Happy,  in  solemn  horror 
and  disgust;  "that  ain't  true,  Mis'  Holmes;  now, 
is  it  ?  Because  there  ain't  a  man  living  but  would 
knock  folks  down  for  such  things,  if  he  could  !  " 

"This  One  could,  you  know;  He  had  all  power. 
He  could  have  killed  with  a  word,  with  a  look,  the 
men  who  mocked  and  the  men  who  struck  and 
spit.  What  He  did  was  to  say  :  '  Father,  forgive 
them '." 

Either  Happy  had  never  heard  this  awful  fact 
in  history  before,  or  else  —  and  more  probably, 
she  had  heard  it  as  hundreds  of  others  have,  with 
out  giving  it  a  moment's  consideration  —  heard 
it  as  something  which  had  not  in  the  remotest 
degree  to  do  with  her,  and  happened  so  long  ago, 
if  at  all,  that  it  was  not  worth  while  to  regard  it. 
She  was  entirely  silent,  but  the  look  on  her  face 
interested  and  half-bewildered  her  teacher.  Was 
it  a  scowl,  and,  if  so,  for  whom  or  what  ? 


SHE  AMAZES  ONE  OF  THEM.        173 

"Mis'  Holmes,"  she  said  at  last,  exploding  the 
words  as  though  they  must  be  spoken,  "if  they'd 
have  done  it  to  me,  I'd  have  spit  back  and  hated 
them,  and  I  couldn't  help  it  either." 

"But,  Happy,  what  if  you  had  been  there  by 
the  side  of  this  One  who  was  hanging  on  a  cross, 
dying  for  you,  and  they  had  done  it  to  him,  not 
to  you  ?" 

"Then  I  would  have  dug  my  nails  into  them 
and  scratched  their  eyes  out ! " 

It  would  not  do  to  think  of  Happy  as  a 
mere  good-natured  simpleton,  after  this ;  her  eyes 
flashed  as  Madeline  Hurst's  might  have  done,  and 
there  was  a  whole  avalanche  of  pent-up  hatred  in 
her  tones. 

"Yes,"  said  the  teacher,  gently;  "but,  Happy, 
suppose  you  had  loved  that  One  hanging  there  so 
much  more  than  any  body  else  in  the  world,  that 
to  please  Him  was  what  you  lived  for;  and  sup 
pose  that  you  were  quite  sure  that  to  please  Him 
you  must  forgive  even  such  people,  and  help  them 
if  you  could  ? " 

"Oh,  Mis'  Holmes!  Then  I'd  'a'  tried;  I 
would  really.  Because  I  would  do  a'most  any 
thing  for  any  body  that  loved  me ;  I  would, 
honest ;  because  I  ain't  never  had  much  loving 
done,  you  know,  and  I  know  what  it  is  to  get 
along  without  it." 

Poor  hungry  soul !     Could  a  Christian  woman 


174  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

help  calling  out  to  the  infinite  Lover  of  souls  to 
come  into  this  starved  heart  and  transform  it  ? 
Happy  loved  by  Jesus  Christ !  It  was  a  wonder 
ful  thought,  truly ;  yet  the  Christian  woman  who 
knew  Him  well,  could  not  for  a  moment  doubt  the 
fact. 

"  Poor  child  !  "  she  said  ;  "  I  wonder  at  you  for 
being  willing  to  get  along  without  it.  The  world 
is  a  very  hard  place  for  those  who  undertake  that. 
But  we  are  ready  to  serve  the  dinner  now,  and  I 
expect  you  to  do  it  very  nicely;  because  it  is  my 
dinner,  you  see,  and  you  said  you  liked  to  please 
me.  Let  me  see  how  swift  and  skillful  and  quiet 
you  can  be.  Remember,  I  shall  be  watching 
you." 

It  was  certainly  a  success.  What  the  boarders 
thought,  who  sat  down  to  spotless  whiteness,  and 
handled  dishes  as  smooth  as  velvet,  and  found  the 
mashed  potato  delicate  and  creamy  and  hot,  and 
asked  for  a  second  supply  of  turnip  which  had  no 
lumps  and  was  seasoned  just  to  the  taste,  I  do  not 
know.  The  probability  is,  that,  being  most  of 
them  men,  they  thought  nothing  about  it  in  detail ; 
they  simply  had  a  sense  of  being  comfortable, 
more  comfortable  than  usual,  and  wondered  why 
a  dim  memory  of  home  haunted  them  to-day,  and 
wondered  what  made  them  so  hungry.  Not  a  man 
of  them  knew  what  it  was  that  was  so  different  to 
day  from  yesterday.  It  takes  a  woman  to  realize 


SHE    AMAZES    ONE    OF    THEM.  1/5 

that  the  right  amount  of  salt  in  the  turnips,  and 
the  absence  of  lumps  in  the-  potatoes,  and  a 
hundred  other  kindred  trifles,  actually  contribute 
toward  making  her  a  better  person  than  she  would 
otherwise  have  been.  There  is  one  other  thing 
she  knows,  and  that  is  that  all  these  trivialities 
have  a  like  influence  over  mankind  in  general, 
even  though  they  neither  realize  it  nor  admit  its 
truth  after  they  are  told. 

As  for  Happy,  she  certainly  did  astonish  Mrs. 
Holmes  and  encourage  her.  The  girl  could  move 
swiftly,  it  appeared,  when  she  chose ;  she  could 
shut  the  door  without  slamming  it,  and  fill  the 
glasses  without  making  a  river  of  water  on  the 
cloth.  A  dozen  mistakes  she  made,  of  course, 
but  the  improvement  in  her  was,  as  I  say, 
astonishing,  and  gave  the  watcher  a  hint,  which 
almost  startled  her,  as  to  the  possibilities  of  the 
transforming  power  of  love  upon  this  unloved  one. 
Midway  in  the  meal  Mrs.  Holmes  became  aware 
that  she  might  relax  her  vigilance  and  anxiety  so 
far  as  the  kitchen  was  concerned,  for  another  hand 
was  plainly  at  work  there.  Through  the  half-open 
door  she  caught  a  glimpse,  once,  of  Mrs.  Stetson's 
face.  It  was  wrinkled  and  old,  and  the  traces 
of  tears  were  upon  it,  but  there  was  also  some 
thing  else  —  a  new  look  which  she  could  not 
name. 

Liph,  in  his  accustomed  seat  at  the  foot  of  the 


176  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

long  table,  ate  his  dinner  in  his  usual  silence;  he 
was  nearly  always  late,  and  stayed  after  the 
boarders  had  departed  ;  he  did  so  to-day,  until  only 
he  and  Mrs.  Holmes  were  in  the  dining-room,  she 
with  her  hand  on  the  door-knob,  ready  to  go. 

"You  ought  to  like  that  lemon  pie  very  much," 
she  said,  lingering  and  smiling. 

"I  do,"  said  Liph,  taking  a  mouthful  large 
enough  to  convince  her  of  the  fact,  "but  I  dunno 
where  the  'ought'  comes  in." 

"I  do ;  it  is  because  your  mother  had  it  made 
on  purpose  for  you.  She  told  me  it  was  your 
favorite,  and  that  she  liked  to  have  it  on  that 
account.  When  mothers  do  things  on  purpose 
for  their  boys,  the  boys  ought  to  like  and  appre 
ciate  them.  Mothers  are  wonderful  beings,  my 
friend.  Did  you  ever  think  what  it  would  be  if 
yours  were  gone?" 

The  last  mouthful  of  pie  was  swallowed,  and 
Liph  sat,  knife  and  fork  in  hand,  looking  down 
into  his  empty  plate.  His  face  was  grave  enough  ; 
was  it  also  sullen?  Did  Liph  love  his  mother? 

"She  has  been  telling  me  of  the  pride  she  used 
to  have  in  you  when  you  were  a  handsome  little 
boy  in  a  white  dress  and  yellow  curls.  If  I  were 
a  boy,  I  would  make  my  mother  so  proud  of  me  at 
nineteen  that  she  would  laugh  when  she  told  of 
how  proud  she  used  to  be  when  I  was  two ;  and 
never  cry." 


SHE    AMAZES    ONE    OF    THEM. 

The  door-knob  turned  swiftly  and  silently,  and 
Liph  was  left  to  himself. 

"Happy,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes  that  evening  as 
her  pitcher  was  being  filled  for  the  night,  "I  have 
been  thinking  of  some  things  which  you  said  this 
morning.  Did  you  never  read  the  story  I  told 
you  about  Jesus  being  mocked  and  spit  upon  ?" 

"I  dunno  as  I  ever  did,  Mis'  Holmes;  not  to 
sense  it,  any  how :  I  don't  remember  it.  The 
Bible  is  so  awful  big,  you  see;  and  I  don't  under 
stand  it  very  well." 

"  You  have  a  Bible  of  your  own,  have  you  not  ?  " 

"Not  much  of  a  one;  it's  a  little,  old,  ugly 
thing,  with  only  one  cover,  and  it's  awful  fine 
print.  My  teacher  give  it  to  me  years  ago,  and  I 
used  to  read  in  it  some ;  but  it  is  fine  print,  and 
there  ain't  no  beginning  to  things  in  it,  somehow. 
It  kind  of  hurt  my  eyes :  I  give  it  up  a  good 
while  ago ;  but  it's  kicking  around  somewhere,  I 
reckon.  I  ain't  seen  it  this  age." 

Poor  Happy  !  She  could  sit  up  until  after  mid 
night  with  her  dime  novels,  and  did,  whenever 
she  could  elude  the  vigilance  of  Mrs.  Stetson, 
without  ever  thinking  of  her  eyes ;  but  when  it 
came  to  a  question  of  Bible  reading,  like  many 
another  higher  in  the  scale  of  being  than  she, 
there  was  lack  of  time,  and  weakness  of  eyes ! 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SHE    LAYS    SNARES    FOR    ONE. 

GOOD  afternoon,"  called  Mrs.  Holmes,  lean 
ing  far  over  the  piazza,  rail  to  greet  Made 
line  Hurst;  "you  are  coming  to  see  me,  are  you 
not  ?  I  am  all  alone.  The  doctor  has  carried 
Mr.  Holmes  away  for  a  ride,  and  I  was  trying 
to  decide  how  to  spend  the  time.  Come  up  to 
my  room  and  we  will  have  a  cosy  visit." 

In  point  of  fact,  Madeline  Hurst  had  not 
intended  any  such  thing.  It  had  been  several 
days  since  she  received  this  lady's  cordial  invita 
tion  to  "come  and  see  her  very  soon,"  but  the 
girl  had  had  not  the  slightest  intention  of  "put 
ting  herself  forward,"  as  she  phrased  it.  The 
very  fact  that  her  sister-in-law  was  constantly 
pushing  her  way  into  a  society  which,  as  society 
looks  at  these  days,  was  above  her,  made  Made 
line  almost  fiercely  afraid  of  doing  so.  The  truth 
is,  she  had  lost  many  pleasant  hours  which  might 
have  been  hers,  because  she  fancied  that  those 
178 


SHE    LAYS    SNARES    FOR    ONE.  1 79 

who  kindly  tried  to  brighten  her  life  were  patron 
izing  her. 

"I  would  rather  associate  with  the  Carpenters 
and  people  of  their  stamp  all  my  life,"  she  had 
said  angrily  to  her  brother's  wife  once,  "than  be 
patronized  by  those  who  say  'poor  thing,'  behind 
my  back,  or  else  sneer  or  laugh  at  my  ignorance  of 
their  ways.  They  do  not  want  me,  and  I  know  it ; 
if  you  would  recognize  the  same  thing,  and  not  be 
forever  trying  to  creep  in  where  you  don't  belong, 
it  would  be  better  for  all  of  us." 

Such  truths  were  bitter  to  Mrs.  Hurst's  soul, 
and  were  a  fruitful  source  of  much  of  the  angry 
disgust  which  these  two  felt  for  each  other. 
Therefore,  the  last  thing  which  Madeline  had 
meant  to  do  was  to  put  herself  in  the  position  of 
appearing  to  "run  after"  Mrs.  Stuart  Holmes. 
She  had  meant  only  to  walk  by  that  way,  and  per 
haps  see  again  the  bright  young  face,  so  little 
older  than  her  own,  and  so  much  fresher  and 
sweeter  than  hers  had  ever  been  ;  there  would  per 
haps  be  a  chance  for  a  bow  and  a  smile,  if  Mrs. 
Holmes  should  happen  to  remember  her  well 
enough  to  recognize  her,  which  was  doubtful ; 
there  might  at  least  be  opportunity  to  look  at  her, 
as  one  would  at  a  picture ;  and  to  Madeline's 
starved  and  beauty-loving  soul  this  was  worth  the 
effort. 

But  who  could  resist  such  a  cordial  invitation 


l8o  HER   ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

as  this  ?  Especially  as  Mrs.  Holmes  immediately 
vanished  inward  with  the  evident  intention  of 
meeting  her  guest  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  hav 
ing  given  her  no  chance  to  decline.  Madeline 
was  embarrassed,  half  dismayed,  indeed,  at  the 
prospect,  but  she  went  slowly  up  the  front  steps 
and  inside  the  open  door. 

"This  way,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes'  voice  from 
above.  "  It  is  delightful  in  my  room  this  after 
noon  ;  the  sunshine  gives  just  the  right  degree 
of  warmth.  Can  you  fancy  how  strange  that 
seems  to  me  who  have  been  used  to  anthracite, 
and  closed  doors  and  windows,  for  all  my  Decem 
bers  ?  Take  this  chair,  and  let  me  have  your  hat. 
Oh,  yes,  please ;  else  I  shall  think  you  are  going 
every  minute,  and  I  want  to  keep  you ;  the  doc 
tor  said  he  should  keep  my  husband  away  until 
sunset." 

It  was  not  possible  to  be  constrained  and  for 
mal,  and  answer  only  in  monosyllables.  If  this 
were  patronage,  it  was  of  a  very  rare,  sweet  sort, 
which  Madeline  Hurst  felt  no  inclination  to  cast 
aside. 

"  I  can  fancy  your  feelings  about  the  Decem 
bers,"  she  said;  "until  I  was  fifteen  I  spent  mine 
among  snows  and  storms ;  but  I  liked  them  as  I 
could  never  learn  to  like  these  soft,  sunshiny 
ones,  I  think." 

"Oh,  are  you,  too,  far  away  from  home?"  Mrs. 


SHE    LAYS    SNAKES    FOR    ONE.  l8l 

Holmes  asked,  with  that  instant  touch  of  sym 
pathy  which  slightly  homesick  hearts  always 
have  for  those  in  like  condition  with  themselves. 
"How  many  people  there  are  who  have  come 
away  from  home !  I  never  realized  it  so  much 
before." 

"I  have  not,"  said  the  girl,  with  a  sort  of 
dreamy  sadness  ;  "home  has  gone  away  from  me; 
so  far  away  that  I  can  never  find  it  again.  I  have 
had  no  home  since  my  mother  died.  Mother  and 
I  were  all  alone  at  the  stony  old  homestead  away 
up  in  Maine.  It  was  just  as  dreary  a  spot,  they 
used  to  say,  as  could  be  found  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  ;  and  I  used  to  long  to  get  away  from  it ; 
but  never  as  I  have  longed  to  get  back  to  it. 
Andrew  says  it  is  a  horrid  corner  of  a  horrid  coun 
try,  but,  compared  with  where  I  live  now,  I  think 
it  was  paradise.  Andrew  is  my  brother,  Mrs. 
Holmes." 

"The  brother  with  whom  you  live?"  the  lady 
questioned,  interestedly  ;  she  was  eager  to  get  hold 
of  this  girl's  past  and  present,  and  discover,  if  she 
could,  what  had  wrought  premature  lines  of  a  cer 
tain  kind  of  suffering  in  her  face,  and  a  strange 
pathetic  fierceness  in  her  eyes,  if  I  may  use  such 
contrary  words  to  describe  eyes. 

"Yes'm.  There  were  only  he  and  I.  When 
he  came  down  here  in  search  of  what  he  did  not 
find,  mother  and  I  were  left  alone;  I  often 


1 82  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

thought  it  dreary,  and  wished  for  change;  and 
change  came!  I  would  like  to  go  back  now,  just 
to  be  near  to  mother's  grave ;  it  is  all  there  is 
left." 

"Oh,  no,  dear  friend!  there  is  heaven,  and 
mother  again,  in  a  home  which  will  never  slip  from 
you.  I  almost  know  your  mother  believed  in  that 
home,  and  urged  you  to  be  sure  to  come  to  her 
there." 

But  the  girl  was  already  ashamed  of  her 
momentary  lapse  into  confidence,  ajid  was  bent 
upon  regaining  full  control  of  herself. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  she  said,  sitting  upright 
among  the  cushions  of  the  old-fashioned  easy- 
chair  ;  "  I  am  sure  I  do  not  understand  why  I 
began  at  once  to  speak  of  myself  in  this  absurd 
way ;  I  never  do.  Yes,  my  mother  was  a  Chris 
tian  woman,  and  she  died  happy  in  the  thought 
that  the  God  whom  she  served  would  take  care  of 
me.  I  do  not  want  to  talk  about  her,  please." 

Young  and  uncultured  though  she  was,  there 
was  a  quiet  dignity  about  this  girl's  manner, 
which  held  one  back  from  making  advances  which 
she  had  resolved  should  not  be  made.  Mrs. 
Holmes  determined  not  to  try  to  probe  further 
until  she  was  better  acquainted  and  better 
understood. 

"I  spent  a  delightful  week  in  Maine  once,"  she 
said;  "in  the  summer-time  and  in  the  region  of 


SHE    LAYS    SNARES    FOR     ONE.  183 

the  old  camping-grounds.  I  have  some  photo 
graphs  of  the  scenery  about  there,  and  of  myself 
as  well.  Would  you  like  to  see  them  ?  Do  you 
like  to  look  at  pictures  ?  These  came  in  my  trunk 
unawares.  It  must  have  been  because  I  felt  that 
you  would  like  them  !  " 

And  she  plunged  into  the  depths  of  the  well- 
stocked  portfolio. 

What  an  afternoon  it  was !  Madeline  Hurst 
had  never  expected  to  have  such  an  experience. 
She  was  barely  twenty  years  old,  yet  for  five 
years  her  life  had  been  hardened,  and  rasped  by 
an  uncongenial  atmosphere,  where  she  was  toler 
ated  for  decency's  sake ;  where  the  very  food  she 
ate  was  at  times  almost  begrudged  her;  where  she 
had  nothing  to  do  which  appealed  to  her  interests 
or  tastes ;  where  she  was  badgered  and  annoyed 
on  every  side.  Had  the  Christian  woman  who 
was  trying  to  help  her  known  a  third  of  the  story, 
she  would  have  felt  her  heart  ache  in  sympathy 
even  more  than  it  did.  Oh,  of  course,  there  were 
two  sides  to  it.  Are  there  any  stories  which  have 
not  always  the  other  side?  Had  Madeline  Hurst, 
a  chastened  Christian  girl  of  fifteen,  gone  into  her 
brother's  home,  bringing  with  her  the  forbearance 
and  unselfishness  and  helpfulness  born  of  the 
Holy  Spirit's  influence,  undoubtedly  the  years  as 
they  unfolded  would  have  told  a  very  different 
tale  ;  in  fact,  she  will  never  know  what  she  might 


184  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

have  wrought  in  and  about  the  home  to  which  she 
came.  But  she  brought  no  such  spirit.  Instead, 
she  was  an  eager,  passionate,  undisciplined  girl ; 
rebellious  over  the  fact  that  the  mother  she  loved 
had  been  taken  from  her;  rebellious  over  leaving 
the  particular  school  she  loved ;  rebellious  over 
the  work  given  her  to  do ;  discouraged,  discon 
tented,  indifferent  as  to  whether  she  gave  offense 
to  those  about  her  or  not.  Is  it  any  wonder  that 
the  years  had  been  hard  to  her  ?  It  is  true  that 
there  are  some  women  who  would  have  borne 
with  her  patiently,  been  tolerant  of  her  faults,  and 
waited  for  time  and  prayer,  and  infinite  painstak 
ing  tenderness  and  helpfulness,  to  bear  their 
fruit,  but  Mrs.  Andrew  Hurst  was  not  such  a 
woman. 

From  her  two  hours  of  blessed  rest  and  refresh 
ment,  during  which  time  she  had  seen  pictures 
and  heard  talk  such  as  never  had  feasted  her  eyes 
or  heart  before,  Madeline  Hurst  awoke  as  from  a 
dream. 

"There  is  Mr.  Holmes!"  said  his  wife,  rising 
suddenly  as  the  sound  of  horses'  feet  could  be 
heard ;  "  it  is  quite  time,  too.  Did  you  realize 
that  the  sun  was  so  near  its  setting?" 

Madeline  drew  a  long,  quivering  sigh. 

"No,"  she  said;  "I  did  not  realize  any  thing 
except  that  I  had  lost  myself,  and  hoped  never 
to  be  found.  I  beg  your  pardon,"  with  a  half 


SHE    LAYS    SNARES    FOR    ONE.  185 

laugh,  "but  you  cannot  know,  of  course,  what 
this  afternoon  has  been  to  me." 

Mrs.  Holmes  regarded  her  thoughtfully,  think 
ing  swiftly  the  while.  Should  she  ?  Stuart  had 
been  long  gone,  and  there  were  a  dozen  things 
she  had  meant  to  talk  over  with  him  while  he 
rested,  but  then  — 

And  then  her  resolution  was  taken. 

"Oh,  don't  rise;  that  is  not  Mr.  Holmes'  chair; 
he  likes  better  the  one  I  have  been  occupying. 
I  am  going  to  keep  you  to  tea." 

"  Yes  !  "  with  a  little  playful  persistence,  as  the 
girl  flushed  and  tried  to  stammer  out  a  protest; 
"  we  have  had  no  company  in  so  long  that  we  are 
lonely.  At  home  the  girls  are  always  dropping 
in  to  have  cozy  little  teas  with  us.  They  will 
not  be  troubled  about  you  at  home,  will  they  ? " 

"They  will  not  think  of  me  at  all,  unless  they 
wonder  what  has  happened  to  relieve  them  of  my 
presence  for  so  long." 

"  Oh,  my  dear  girl !  " 

There  was  such  pent-up  fierceness  in  the  tone 
that  Mrs.  Holmes  could  not  withhold  this  note  of 
protest.  Madeline's  cheeks  flamed  a  deeper  hue 
under  the  implied  reproof. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  she  said  quickly,  "I  do 
not  mean  my  brother ;  but,  indeed,  I  must  go 
home." 

"  Indeed,  you  must  not,  if  it  is  not  necessary. 


1 86  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

I  want  you  to  meet  my  husband.  You  will  like 
him ;  every  body  does,"  with  a  happy  little  laugh. 

They  were  in  the  upper  hall  now,  he  and  the 
doctor.  Mrs.  Holmes  threw  open  the  door. 

"Safely  back,"  said  the  doctor;  "this  gentle 
man  has  gained  a  pound  of  flesh,  I  think,  since  we 
went  out.  As  for  his  appetite,  I  expect  it  to  be 
enormous." 

He  made  a  sudden  pause,  seeing  a  stranger  in 
the  room.  Was  there  the  slightest  possible  eleva 
tion  of  eyebrows  when  he  was  introduced  to  "Miss 
Hurst"?  If  so,  it  was  gone  before  Mrs.  Holmes 
could  be-sure  of  it,  or  translate  its  meaning.  He 
went  away  almost  immediately,  but  that  was  to 
have  been  expected.  As  for  her  husband,  Mrs. 
Holmes  exulted  inwardly  over  the  exceeding  tact 
and  graciousness  of  his  words  and  manner.  It 
was  not  surprising,  she  told  herself,  that  his  influ 
ence  with  young  people  was  almost  unbounded. 
How  could  they  resist  such  hearty,  kindly,  and 
withal  extremely  courteous  bearing  ? 

"If  he  had  been  acquainted  with  all  the  details 
of  the  girl's  sad  life,  he  could  hardly  chose  his 
words  more  wisely,"  she  said,  and  then  caught  and 
stifled  a  sigh.  Was  it  not  strange  that  such  a 
worker  as  he  should  be  laid  aside  for  nearly  a 
year,  when  all  over  the  Master's  vineyard  the 
really  consecrated  laborers  were  so  few? 

They  went  down  to  tea  together,  Mrs.  Holmes 


SHE    LAYS    SNARES    FOR    ONE.  187 

and  her  guest,  and  Happy  waited  upon  them ;  not 
in  her  very  best  manner;  she  seemed  unaccount 
ably  confused,  and  by  no  means  so  full  of  the  irre 
pressible  laugh  as  usual.  Liph  was  not  present, 
for  which  the. hostess  was  sorry;  she  had  won 
dered  vaguely  whether  this  girl  of  another  world 
than  his,  and  yet  of  so  different  a  world  from  her 
own,  could  not  suggest  some  ways  of  reaching 
after  and  helping  a  boy  like  that. 

"  Her  brother  might  know  what  his  worst 
temptations  were,  and  hint  at  something  to  be 
done  to  make  them  less  dangerous,"  she  had  said 
to  herself;  "to  be  sure,  he  may  not  be  the  sort 
of  brother  who  knows  any  thing  about  it,  but 
then  he  may,  and  if  Madeline  herself  could 
become  interested  in  the  miseries  and  dangers  of 
some  one  beside  herself,  it  might  help  her.  But 
Liph  did  not  appear  at  all.  As  for  Madeline, 
what  shall  be  said  of  her  state  of  mind  ?  At 
times  she  was  on  the  verge  of  laughter  over  the 
thought  of  what  her  brother's  wife  would  say  or 
think,  could  she  see  her  now  seated  at  this  table, 
which,  though  plain  enough,  was  more  preten 
tious  than  that  of  the  Hursts' ;  but,  above  all 
things,  seated  here  as  the  guest  of  Mrs.  Stuart 
Holmes !  the  elegant  young  stranger  who  had  kept 
certain  circles  in  the  little  city  on  the  alert  for 
several  weeks  in  their  eagerness  to  know  more  of 
her,  to  come  in  contact  with  her.  "And  I,  Mad- 


I  88  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

eline  Hurst,  am  her  invited  guest !  What  pos 
sessed  me  to  stay?  How  extraordinary  that  she 
should  have  invited  me !  But  then  I  stayed  all 
the  afternoon,  how  could  she  help  it?"  At  this 
thought  the  ready  blush  of  shame  dyed  the  girl's 
cheeks.  Comforted  she  was,  however,  almost 
immediately,  by  the  remembrance  of  the  frank 
cordiality  with  which  she  had  been  received  and 
held. 

If  Mrs.  Holmes  did  not  want  her,  what  possi 
ble  motive  could  she  have  had  for  calling  to  her 
in  the  first  place,  and  then  making  it  so  pleasant 
that  it  was  hardly  possible  for  her  to  get  away? 
So  for  once  in  her  life  the  sensitive  young  girl 
determined  to  dismiss  her  morbid  thoughts  and  be 
happy.  She  was  almost  ridiculously  happy.  She 
knew  she  should  be  ashamed  and  vexed  when  she 
thought  about  it  afterward,  that  so  small  a  thing 
as  a  few  hours  with  a  lovely  woman,  being  treated 
as  though  she  were  an  equal,  should  have  such 
power  over  her. 

The  large,  cheerful  room  up  stairs  looked  even 
more  cheerful  by  the  light  of  the  softly-shaded 
lamp,  and  brightened  by  the  gay  afghan  which 
was  thrown  over  Mr.  Holmes  as  he  lounged  among 
the  pillows. 

What  a  delightful  hour  it  was  ! 

"I  am  not  to  be  suppressed  to-night,  my  dear," 
her  husband  said  laughingly  to  his  wife  ;  "  I  have 


SHE    LAYS    SNARES    FOR    ONE.  189 

rested  while  you  were  dining,  and  am  much 
stronger,  I  find,  than  I  was  a  week  ago."  So 
he  had  joined  in  the  conversation,  leading  it, 
indeed,  some  of  the  time,  and  Mrs.  Holmes,  list 
ening,  was  surprised  again  to  see  how  well  her 
young  guest  talked,  and  what  excellent  thoughts 
she  had  upon  many  subjects. 

"She  must  have  had  a  good  mother,"  thought 
the  lady,  watching  the  play  of  expression  on  the 
changeful  face.  "A  careful,  cultured,  tender 
mother ;  and  she  is  waiting  for  her  in  heaven. 
And  the  girl  is  in  danger  down  here.  If  I  can 
only  save  her  for  her  mother ! " 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THEY    SEARCH    FOR    "REAL    THINGS." 

LATER  in  the  evening,  when  the  lamp  was 
turned  low  to  allow  full  sway  to  a  flood 
of  silvery  moonlight,  Mrs.  Holmes  hoped  for  an 
opportunity  to  get  closer  to  the  heart  of  her  guest, 
and  learn,  if  possible,  what  dangers  beset  her  way. 
They  were  quite  alone  again,  Mr.  Holmes  having 
retired  to  his  room  for  the  night. 

"Oh,  do  not  go  yet,"  her  hostess  had  said  as 
Madeline  made  a  movement  to  depart ;  "  I  will 
give  you  a  book  to  read  while  I  am  making  Mr. 
Holmes  comfortable,  then  we  will  have  time  for 
a  long  talk.  I  was  troubled  as  to  how  you  were 
to  get  home,  but  I  have  thought  out  a  charming 
plan.  You  know  Uncle  Tommy,  do  you  not  ? 
He  is  the  nicest  old  man,  and  a  particular  friend 
of  mine ;  he  comes  this  way  each  evening  to  bring 
our  mail ;  his  way  home  lies  directly  by  your  door, 
does  it  not  ?  Oh,  Uncle  Tommy  will  take  excel 
lent  care  of  you." 

190 


THEY    SEARCH    FOR    REAL    THINGS.  IQI 

"Care  of  me!  "  said  Madeline,  laughing;  "why, 
I  had  not  thought  of  such  a  thing ;  I  am  accus 
tomed  to  going  where  I  please  and  when  I  please. 
I  am  not  at  all  afraid  in  the  dark,  Mrs.  Holmes." 

The  woman  who  had  been  sheltered  by  thought 
ful  care  all  her  life  looked  astonished  and  seemed 
distressed. 

"  My  dear  girl,  I  beg  your  pardon  for  saying  it, 
but  you  ought  to  be." 

"Why,  pray  ? " 

"  Why  ?  Because  Satan  and  sin  are  abroad  in 
the  world  ;  believe  me,  dear,  it  is  not  safe  for  a 
young  girl  to  walk  the  streets  of  any  city  alone  at 
night.  It  cannot  be  your  duty  to  go  alone  after 
dark,  and  I  can  think  of  no  other  motive  which 
ought  to  take  a  self-respecting  girl  into  such  pos 
sible  peril." 

Madeline's  cheeks  were  very  red,  and  she  bent 
low  over  the  book  which  had  been  placed  in  her 
hands. 

"Nobody  ever  troubled  me,"  she  said,  trying  to 
speak  lightly. 

"But  somebody  may,  my  dear  girl;  and,  if  they 
should  not,  you  set  an  example  for  those  less  care 
ful  of  their  ways  than  you." 

But  at  this  Madeline  laughed  coldly. 

"You  are  really  mistaken  in  me,  madam,"  she 
said  ;  "  I  am  not,  and  cannot  be,  a  fine  lady,  to  put 
on  pretty  airs  and  insist  on  being  taken  care  of ! 


192  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

There  is  no  one  to  do  it  for  me  if  I  wanted  it. 
As  for  my  influence,  I  have  none  in  the  world. 
Who  is  there  that  you  imagine  would  quote  Made 
line  Hurst  in  proof  that  an  act  was  right  or 
wrong! " 

"More  than  one  person,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes, 
earnestly;  "people  of  whom  you  know  nothing, 
perhaps.  It  is  folly  for  any  of  us  to  declare  that 
we  have  no  influence.  Until  we  can  know  all  the 
past,  and  all  the  future,  even  as  God  does,  our  lips 
are  sealed  upon  that  point."  Saying  which,  she 
vanished,  giving  those  last  words  a  chance  to  sink 
into  the  girl's  conscience. 

"You  have  an  interesting  study  out  there,"  her 
husband  said,  inclining  his  head  toward  the  door; 
"is  she  one  of  your  associate  members?" 

"I  am  afraid  so;  I  half  hoped  at  first  that  she 
might  prove  an  active  one,  but  this  afternoon  has 
not  encouraged  me." 

"The  soil  is  full  of  weeds,"  he  said,  "but  per 
haps  she  had  a  Christian  mother." 

"  Oh,  she  had  ;  a  good  one,  I  believe ;  but  she 
has  been  long  gone,  and  the  poor  girl  has  spent 
her  life  of  late  among  thorns." 

"Still,  perhaps  the  good  seed  is  not  dead,  only 
choked,"  he  said,  smiling;  "we  must  adopt  her 
and  win  her  for  Christ." 

"Do  you  like  that  book?"  Mrs.  Holmes  said, 
returning  to  her  guest  a  little  later. 


THEY    SEARCH    FOR    REAL    THINGS.  IQ3 

Madeline  gave  a  slight  start. 

"Yes'm  —  or  —  no  —  I  don't  know,  indeed;  I 
have  been  thinking,  and  reading  only  sentences 
here  and  there." 

"You  like  to  read?"  inquiringly. 

"  Oh,  indeed,  I  like  it  too  well ;  better  than  I 
wish  I  did.  The  habit  of  reading  every  thing  I 
can  get  hold  of  is  always  getting  me  into  trouble. 
Yet  I  do  not  know  how  I  could  have  lived  without 
books." 

"What  books  do  you  read  ?  " 

"Every  thing  I  can  get,  as  I  said;  but  that 
does  not  mean  much  ;  my  opportunities  are  lim 
ited.  There  is  a  circulating  library,  a  small  one, 
from  which  I  have  been  getting  books ;  but  it 
doesn't  help  much ;  I  have  read  and  re-read  every 
thing  in  it,  and  they  only  get  new  books  once  in 
an  age !  " 

"What  books  do  you  like  the  best  —  history?" 

"Oh,  no,  indeed,"  with  a  deep  blush;  "I  do 
not  like  histories  at  all." 

"  Biographies,  then,  or  books  of  travel  ?  " 

"  No,  I  cannot  say  I  like  such  books ;  biogra 
phies  I  think  I  hate.  I  like  stories,  Mrs.  Holmes, 
real  genuine  love  stories.  I  suppose  that  is  very 
silly,  if  not  worse,  and  you  are  shocked  with  me." 

"  Why  should  I  be  ?  Am  I  not  supposed  to 
approve  of  love,  my  dear  girl  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know.     They  prose  about  it,  you 


194  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

know,  good  people  do ;  they  think  it  is  wrong  to 
read  any  thing  more  exciting  than  a  psalm-book. 
I  like  exciting  things,  such  as  make  me  forget  my 
every-day  life,  and  lose  myself  for  awhile  at  least, 
in  the  lives  I  read  about." 

"  And  books  which  help  you  to  live  the  life  set 
for  you,  with  a  better  aim  and  a  truer  purpose 
than  before  ?  I  like  such  books.  Do  the  ones 
you  choose  help  you  in  this  way,  Madeline  ?  I 
may  call  you  Madeline,  may  I  not  ? ' 

"If  you  will,"  said  Madeline,  coloring  partly 
with  pleasure  and  partly  with  shame  of  the  con 
fession  she  was  about  to  make. 

"No,  the  books  I  read  do  not  help  me,  I  sup 
pose  ;  at  least  they  make  me  hate  my  life  more 
than  I  did,  and  that  is  useless.  Oh,  I  do  not 
choose  the  best  reading  by  any  means.  I  do  not 
do  the  best  of  any  thing.  I  read  to  help  me  for 
get  myself,  and  my  hateful  surroundings,  as  much 
as  I  can  ;  that  is  my  single  motive." 

"But,  Madeline,  is  it  a  wise  one?  Is  there 
not  a  better  way  ?  If,  for  instance,  there  were 
books  which  would  help  you  lift  your  life  into  an 
atmosphere  which  would  give  you  joy  and  peace, 
would  not  that  be  better?" 

"  There  are  no  such  books ;  at  least  I  never 
saw  them  if  there  are,  and  I  don't  believe  there 
is  any  thing  in  this  world  which  would  make  me 
do  other  than  hate  my  present  surroundings." 


THEY    SEARCH    FOR    REAL    THINGS.       •     IQ5 

"Very  well,  let  us  go  beyond  this  world,  then. 
Is  there  nothing  in  the  life  of  God  which  could 
do  for  you  what  he  has  for  so  many  ?" 

Silence  for  a  moment ;  then,  in  lower  tones 
than  before : 

"  You  mean  the  Bible,  I  suppose.  I  do  not 
read  that  any  more ;  I  used  to.  I  read  it  with 
mother  every  day,  and  for  a  little  after  she  was 
gone,  but  not  long.  I  couldn't ;  it  made  me  feel 
horrid  —  worse  than  any  thing  else." 

"Poor  child  !     Do  you  not  understand  why?" 

The  silence  lasted  longer  than  before;  then 
Madeline's  great  eyes,  which  were  almost  black, 
looked  full  at  her  questioner. 

"  I  may  as  well  tell  you  the  truth  ;  I  suppose  it 
was  because  my  conscience  told  me  plainly  that 
I  was  not  living  in  accordance  with  the  teachings 
of  the  book." 

"And  your  only  remedy  for  that  was  to  close 
the  book  ?  Oh,  Madeline  ! " 

"Well,"  said  Madeline  firmly,  rising  to  the 
defensive,  "  I  could  not  help  it.  As  I  was  situ 
ated,  it  was  simply  impossible  to  live  by  the 
Bible.  When  I  had  my  mother  it  was  different, 
but  I  told  you  that  you  did  not  understand  my 
position." 

"  And  I  told  you  that  there  was  One  who  did. 
Do  you  believe  it  possible  that  He  placed  a  soul 
where  she  could  not  follow  out  His  dearest  will 


196   .  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

concerning  her?  Is  that  in  accordance  with 
your  mother's  teachings  about  her  Savior?" 

Madeline's  head  drooped  suddenly,  and  again 
she  was  silent.  After  a  moment  Mrs.  Holmes 
spoke  again  : 

"I  do  not  know  how  you  are  circumstanced,  it 
is  true,  nor,  so  far  as  this  subject  is  concerned, 
does  it  make  the  slightest  difference,  except  that 
those  who  have  not  in  this  life  the  place  they 
crave,  are  especially  called  by  the  loving  One. 
Have  you  forgotten  how  he  said,  '  Come  unto  me, 
all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will 
give  you  rest '  ?  Is  not  that  meant  for  you,  my 
friend  ? " 

But  Madeline  was  obstinately  silent.  In  her 
heart  was  an  assured  conviction  that  if  Mrs. 
Holmes  knew  her  sister-in-law,  and  had  to  live 
with  her,  she  would  talk  and  think  differently. 

And  then  Mrs.  Holmes,  who  felt  that  perhaps 
she  had  said  enough  of  a  strictly  personal  nature, 
tried  another  subject,  or,  more  properly  speaking, 
a  different  form  of  the  same  subject. 

"  You  like  to  read  stories,  you  say,  but  you 
have  not  made  plain  to  me  what  ones.  There  are 
stories  and  stories,  you  know ;  some  of  them  I  like 
exceedingly." 

"You  would  not  like  my  favorites."  Made 
line's  tones  were  growing  cold  and  dignified. 

"How  can  you  be   sure,  my  dear?     There  is 


THEY    SEARCH    FOR    REAL    THINGS.  197 

not  such  a  striking  difference  in  our  ages  that 
our  tastes  should  be  so  greatly  unlike." 

"It  is  more  than  age  which  determines  these 
things,"  said  Madeline,  with  the  air  of  a  sage; 
"  I  like  sensational  stories,  such  as  you  would  call 
unreal,  overdrawn  and  all  that  sort  of  thing." 

"  And  do  you  like  unreal,  overdrawn  things,  my 
friend  ? " 

"Yes,"  said  the  girl  defiantly,  "I  do.  When 
the  real  things  all  about  one  are  horrid,  why 
should  not  one  enjoy  beautiful,  unreal  things,  in 
books  at  least ?  What  harm  can  it  do  ?  " 

"  It  is  thought  to  increase  one's  dissatisfaction 
with  reality,  and  at  the  same  time  to  offer  no  rem 
edy.  Is  that  a  just  charge?" 

"I  suppose  so,"  said  Madeline  gloomily;  "but 
that  doesn't  keep  me  from  enjoying  them  at  the 
time." 

"  You  have  not  given  me  the  name  of  a  sin 
gle  author  as  yet.  I  am  going  to  see  if  you  do 
not,  after  all,  like  some  of  my  favorites.  Do  you 
ever  read  Miss  Warner's  books?" 

"  What  has  she  written  ?  I  hardly  ever  notice 
the  name  of  the  author.  You  would  not  approve 
of  that,  either.  Of  course,  you  would  choose 
your  author  with  care,  and  avoid  a  book  written 
by  one  whom  you  do  not  like,  but  I  have  little 
opportunity  for  choice,  and  read  every  thing ;  so 
what  does  it  matter  who  writes  them?" 


198  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"Miss  Warner  has  written  a  large  number  of 
books.  'The  Hills  of  the  Shatemuc'  was  one 
of  my  favorites,  and  '  The  Old  Helmet '  was 
another." 

"Oh,  'The  Old  Helmet'!  I  read  that  once. 
I  did  not  like  it  at  all.  People  talk  about  unreal 
characters,  Mrs.  Holmes ;  I  do  not  know  where 
you  would  find  any  more  unreal  than  those 
described  in  that  book.  I  do  not  believe  such 
people  ever  lived  as  that  Mr.  Rhys,  for  instance." 

"In  that  case  you  ought  to  be  fond  of  it,  my 
dear;  did  you  not  just  confess  to  me  that  you 
liked  overdrawn  books  ?  " 

Madeline  flushed,  and  laughed  a  little. 

"I  do  not  mean  of  that  sort,"  she  said,  after  a 
minute.  "You  think  me  absurd  and  childish,  but 
I  know  what  I  mean,  though  I  find  it  hard  to 
explain  myself.  I  have  not  of  late  years  been  in 
the  habit  of  being  asked  my  reasons  for  things. 
The  unreal  stories  which  I  read  arid  enjoy,  deal 
with  society  and  dress  and  amusements ;  things 
about  which  one  has  a  right  to  be  as  extravagant, 
on  paper,  as  one  pleases  ;  but  when  it  comes  to 
talks  about  religion  and  the  Bible  and  matters 
of  that  sort,  it  never  seemed  to  me  it  was  right  to 
picture  things  different  from  the  reality.  I  do 
not  think  I  am  making  myself  very  clear,  but  that 
is  as  nearly  as  I  can  express  my  thoughts." 

"  I  get  your  meaning,  my  friend  ;  there  is  force. 


THEY    SEARCH    FOR    REAL    THINGS.  199 

in  it,  or  would  be,  if  there  were  not  a  very  import 
ant  point  which  you  overlook.  What  do  you 
mean  by  unreal  things  —  the  impossible  or  the 
improbable? " 

"Well,  the  extremely  improbable,  perhaps.  I 
do  not  think  the  absolutely  impossible  has  much 
charm  for  me.  I  never  liked  fairy  stories  when 
I  was  a  child  ;  but  a  delightful  thing  which  might 
possibly  be,  I  revel  in,  no  matter  how  improbable, 
because  I  cannot  help  saying  to  myself  :  '  Strange 
things  have  happened,  they  possibly  may  again, 
and  they  might,  some  of  them,  come  to  me.'  Not 
that  I  expect  any  thing  of  the  kind,  either,  only 
it  is  pleasant  to  imagine  once  in  a  while  that  I  do  ; 
but,  as  I  said,  when  the  highly  improbable  has  to 
do  with  religion,  it  is  not  to  my  taste." 

"I  understand,  but  let  me  ask  you,  suppose 
these  highly  improbable  things  were  so  only 
because  people  chose  to  take  no  steps  to  secure 
them  ;  and  suppose  that  the  moment  one  chose 
to  make  the  apparently  unreal  his  own,  he  could 
do  so  ;  would  it  not  alter  your  estimate  ?  " 

"  Of  course ;  but  I  do  not  see  what  that  has  to 
do  with  our  argument." 

"  Do  you  not  ?  To  me  it  has  every  thing  to  do 
with  it ;  I  have  heard  the  charge  of  unreality 
brought  against  my  favorite  books  before,  and 
there  is  a  sense  in  which  it  is  true.  For  instance, 
jt  is  true  that  there  are  few  men  like  Mr.  Rhys ;  I 


2OO  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

would  not  make  so  strong  a  statement  as  you  did, 
for  I  have  known  a  few  who  were  much  like  him, 
but  I  grant  you  there  are  few.  Now,  the  infinite 
difference  between  Miss  Warner's  extreme  charac 
ters  and  those  of  many  extreme  characters  in  fic 
tion  is,  that  hers  represent  not  only  the  entirely 
possible,  but  they  produce  before  us  the  picture  of 
what  it  is  our  manifest  duty  as  Christians  to  strive 
to  become.  Can  the  same  be  said  of  any  of  the 
books  to  which  you  are  referring?" 

"No,"  said  Madeline,  promptly,  "nothing  of  the 
kind  could  be  said,  and  I  never  before  heard  any 
body  say  that  it  was  possible  to  be  as  good  as 
Miss  Warner  made  her  characters.  I'm  sure  I 
should  like  to  see  some  who  were  like  them  ! " 

"  But,  my  dear  friend,  is  the  pattern  held  up  in 
that  book  any  better  than  the  one  which  the  Bible 
calls  for  when  it  says  :  'Present  your  bodies  a  liv 
ing  sacrifice,  which  is  your  reasonable  service  ? ' ' 

"Perhaps  not,  but  then  who  does  it?" 

"That  is  not  to  the  point.  You  know  the 
question  is  not  so  much  '  Who  does  it  ? '  as  '  Who 
will  ? '  If  Madeline  Hurst,  reading  of  the  pure  and 
beautiful  life  of  some  fictitious  character  patterned 
after  the  man  Jesus  Christ,  is  moved  thereby  to 
the  remembrance  of  Him  who  was  not  fiction,  but 
glorious  reality ;  who  lived  on  earth,  and  loved 
and  died  in  order  that  we  might  be  conformed  to 
his  image ;  and  if  she  resolves  because  of  it  to  try 


THEY    SEARCH    FOR    REAL    THINGS.  2OI 

from  henceforth  to  order  her  life  after  that  pat 
tern,  has  not  the  unreal  and  unnatural  character 
accomplished  a  blessed  result  ?  " 

"Then  you  think  it  is  all  right  to  be  unreal  in 
religious  fiction  ? " 

"  If  by  unreal  you  simply  mean,  as  I  suspect, 
not  common,  and  if  the  picture  is  something 
which  might  be  real,  this  is,  in  my  judgment,  the 
realm  of  legitimate  fiction,  and  its  only  excuse 
for  being  at  all." 

"Well,"  said  Madeline,  drawing  a  long  sigh, 
after  a  minute  of  silence,  "  I  confess  that  I  have 
a  stronger  hope  of  suddenly  falling  heir  to  a 
hundred  thousand  dollars  and  exchanging  my  one 
room  in  the  attic  for  a  palace,  as  the  young  lady 
did  in  the  last  novel  I  read,  than  of  growing  into 
such  a  perfect  character  as  Mr.  Rhys,  or  even 
as  Elinor  did,  after  she  became  his  wife ! " 

And  then  Uncle  Tommy  came  with  the  mail, 
and  the  evening  was  gone. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

SHE    FINDS    AN    "ACTIVE    MEMBER." 

MRS.  HOLMES,  as  she  looked  after  them 
down  the  moonlighted  street,  wondered 
sadly  what  she  had  accomplished,  after  all.  The 
girl  was  bright  and  interesting,  but  so  positive  in 
her  views,  and  so  narrow  in  her  range  of  thought ! 
She  seemed  almost  as  far  away  from  that  one 
perfect  life  as  poor  Liph  himself. 

"  And  I  did  not  say  a  word  to  her  about  Mrs. 
Carpenter,"  she  added,  with  a  self-reproachful 
start.  "  After  all,  of  what  use  would  it  have 
been  ?  The  poor  child  cannot  help  her,  not  until 
she  is  helped  herself.  And  what  is  there  that 
she  will  let  reach  close  enough  to  help  her? " 

She  was  on  the  lower  piazza.,  whither  she  had 
gone  to  see  Madeline  off,  and  have  a  minute's 
talk  with  Uncle  Tommy.  She  walked  back  and 
forth  in  the  moonlight,  full  of  sad  thoughts. 
How  was  the  work  to  be  done,  any  of  it  ?  Therq 
202 


SHE    FINDS    AN    ACTIVE    MEMBER.  203 

were  so  many  now  in  whom  she  was  keenly  inter 
ested,  yet  she  was  making  no  progress. 

"It  is  very  strange,"  she  told  herself  sadly,  "so 
many  and  yet  so  utterly  unlike  one  another,  and 
so  unlike  any  persons  for  whom  I  have  ever 
worked  before.  I  cannot  help  being  interested  in 
them,  yet  I  do  not  seem  to  be  the  one  to  accom 
plish  results.  Some  of  the  time  I  even  repel.  I 
wish  I  could  have  discovered  the  names  of  some 
of  the  books  which  Madeline  Hurst  reads ;  they 
seem  to  have  a  strange  influence  over  her.  They 
cannot  be  like  Happy's  selections ;  the  girl  has 
too  much  mind  for  those." 

As  she  walked  back  and  forth  thinking  her 
troubled  thoughts,  she  heard  footsteps  approach 
ing,  and  was  surprised  to  see  Uncle  Tommy 
returning. 

"Why,  Uncle  Tommy,"  she  said,  going  to  the 
gate  to  speak  to  him  ;  "are  you  coming  back?  I 
thought  you  had  started  homeward  for  the  night. 
Have  you  seen  my  charge  to  her  own  door 
al  ready  ? ' ' 

"I  started  home,  ma'am,  but  had  to  turn 
around  and  trudge  back  because  I  forgot  some 
thing  I  was  to  bring.  Uncle  Tommy  never  could 
depend  on  his  head  to  save  his  heels,  and  grows 
worse  as  he  grows  older.  No,  I  didn't  see  her  to 
the  door,  ma'am  ;  she  met  with  some  one  whose 
company  suited  her  better  than  mine,  and  said  I 


2O4  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

need  not  trouble   further,  though   it   would   have 
been  no  trouble  at  all,  of  course." 

"  Met  some  one  ?     Did  she  meet  a  friend  ?  " 
"Aye,  and  he  turned  and  walked  with  her,  and 
seemed  glad  of  the  chance,  and  she  likewise,  or  at 
least  willing ;  so  there  was  nothing  for  me  to  do 
but  turn  and  leave  them." 

"A  gentleman  was  it,  Uncle  Tommy?" 
"Aye,  at  least  that  is  what  he  calls  himself.      I 
make  no  doubt  there  might  be  two  opinions  about 
that." 

"Was  it  her  brother,  Uncle  Tommy?" 
"Oh,  no,  ma'am  ;  not  her  brother." 
The  old  man  did  not  seem  disposed  to  say  any 
thing  more,  though  she  waited  in  hope  that  he 
would  give  her  the  name  of  Madeline's  friend. 
She  was  disturbed,  she  hardly  knew  why.  Cer 
tainly  it  was  not  an  unusual  state  of  things  for  a 
young  woman  to  have  a  gentleman  friend  who 
could  with  propriety  join  her  in  an  evening  walk. 
Nevertheless  she  could  not  help  feeling  troubled. 
Truth  to  tell,  Mrs.  Holmes  was  strongly  tempted 
toward  discouragement  to-night.  The  reaction 
from  the  nervous  strain  caused  by  her  steady 
effort  to  entertain  Madeline  Hurst,  was  upon  her, 
and  perhaps  helped  to  make  her  mental  vision  less 
clear  than  usual.  She  could  almost  have  cried  out 
with  the  prophet  of  old,  "I,  even  I,  only  am  left." 
There  was  so  much  needing  to  be  done,  and  no 


SHE    FINDS    AN    ACTIVE    MEMBER.  20$ 

workers  !  Here,  for  instance,  was  Uncle  Tommy, 
a  clean-faced,  neatly-dressed,  self-respecting  old 
man,  whom  every  body  liked  and  trusted ;  who 
was  so  true  to  his  word  that  it  had  passed  into  a 
sort  of  proverb  among  the  people  of  his  neighbor 
hood,  "  It  is  as  sure  to  be  done  as  though  Uncle 
Tommy  had  promised  it."  Yet  it  came  to  her 
suddenly,  standing  there,  that  she  had  never  said 
one  word  to  the  old  man  on  the  one  important 
theme!  His  hair  was  whitening  fast,  and  the 
time  he  had  to  spend  on  earth  must  of  necessity 
be  short.  Was  any  one  interested  in  where  he 
would  spend  his  future  ?  Who  was  trying  to  help 
him  settle  so  important  a  question  ? 

"What  is  a  gentleman?"  she  asked,  dreamily, 
more  for  the  purpose  of  seeming  to  be  friendly 
with  the  old  man,  and  yet  carry  out  her  own  train 
of  thought,  than  because  she  was  interested  in 
his  reply. 

"Well,"  said  Uncle  Tommy,  straightening  him 
self  in  the  moonlight,  "there  might  be  different 
opinions  about  it ;  looking  on  at  folks,  I've  no 
kind  of  doubt  that  there  are ;  but  if  you  ask  for 
my  views,  why,  according  to  my  way  of  thinking, 
there  is  only  one  kind  of  true  gentleman,  and 
that  is  a  man  who  is  keeping  to  the  road  He  trav 
eled,  just  as  near  as  he  can." 

There  was  such  intense  reverence  in  the  use  of 
the  first  pronoun,  that  it  did  not  need  the  rever- 


2O6  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

ent  uplift  of  Uncle  Tommy's  bared  head  to  tell 
the  listener  to  whom  he  referred.  There  was  an 
instant  lighting  up  of  her  expressive  face,  and  she 
reached  forth  her  hand  impulsively. 

"  Oh,  Uncle  Tommy,  do  you  know  Him  ? 
Then  we  are  kindred." 

"I  do  that,  ma'am,"  said  Uncle  Tommy,  clasp 
ing  the  soft  young  hand  in  his  old  and  wrinkled 
one.  "I've  been  traveling  on  after  Him  for  nigh 
on  to  forty  years,  and  I  reckon  I'm  coming  pretty 
nigh  to  the  turn  where  I  shall  see  His  face.  It's 
a  curious  thing,"  and  his  old  face  rippled  into 
smiles,  "  I've  thought  about  it  a  great  deal,  and 
it's  a  very  curious  thing,  but  there  comes  a  time 
when  He  lets  us  catch  up  with  Him  and  walk 
along  arm  in  arm." 

"Do  you  mean  here?"  asked  Mrs.  Holmes,  in 
a  voice  which  was  almost  awe-stricken.  Uncle 
Tommy's  face  shone  in  the  moonlight  almost  as 
though  it  might  have  been  the  face  of  an  angel. 

"No,  ma'am,  I  mean  there;  though  I've  come 
to  think,  of  late  years,  that  we've  a  right  to  get  a 
good  deal  nearer  to  Him  here  than  the  most  of  us 
have  understood." 

"I  have  found  an  active  member,"  said  Mrs. 
Holmes  to  her  husband  the  next  morning.  You 
can  not  think  what  a  surprise  and  joy  it  was  to 
me.  I  had  almost  grown  to  think  that  there  were 
no  Christians  here.  Well,  of  course  I  do  not 


SHE    FINDS    AN    ACTIVE    MEMBER.  20/ 

mean  that,  exactly,  but  you  know  we  have  not 
come  into  intimate  acquaintance  with  any,  as  yet. 
I  do  not  know  of  one  professing  Christian  in  this 
boarding-house,  and  I  had  some  way  forgotten 
that  there  were  any.  Where  do  you  think  I 
found  him  ?" 

"I  can  hardly  imagine,  if  you  have  come  in 
contact  with  him  since  I  last  visited  with  you," 
her  husband  said,  smiling.  "I  had  the  impres 
sion  that  that  dark-faced,  fierce-eyed  girl  was  the 
only  one  you  met  yesterday.  Did  he  call  upon 
you  ? " 

"Oh,  no.      I  met  him  at  the  gate." 

"At  the  gate!  Ah,  you  mean  Uncle  Tommy? 
Oh,  yes,  I  knew  he  was  a  prince  of  the  Royal 
line.  I  had  a  little  talk  with  him  one  day  last 
week  when  you  were  out,  and  he  came  with  let 
ters.  He  is  a  blessed  old  saint,  and  has  had  a 
troubled  voyage.  He  told  me  he  was  so  glad  to 
lie  by  in  a  quiet  harbor  for  a  little  while,  and 
make  the  shore  through  still  waters.  He  was 
once  a  sailor,  and  his  language  is  filled  with  the 
imagery  of  the  sea." 

Mrs.  Holmes  was  quiet,  with  a  sort  of  grave 
sweetness  upon  her  face.  She  had  had  another 
surprise.  The  husband  whom  she  supposed  too 
ill  to  speak  or  think  of  Christian  work,  yet  at  his 
very  first  opportunity  had  a  word  of  inquiry  ready 
for  the  man  who  she  thought  had  been  neglected. 


2O8  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

Perhaps  there  was  everywhere  a  great  deal  more 
work  being  done  than  she  imagined.  The  story 
of  the  old  prophet  came  to  her,  and  she  smiled 
as  she  repeated  mentally  the  words,  "  I  have  left 
me  seven  thousand  in  Israel." 

It  was  destined  to  be  a  morning  of  surprises. 
Mrs.  Holmes,  when  she  went  down  to  see  about 
her  husband's  breakfast,  had  another.  She  had 
just  come  from  an  encounter  with  Happy.  That 
young  woman  had  been  met  at  the  head  of  the 
stairs,  water-pail  in  hand,  a  generous  supply  of  the 
liquid  which  it  had  contained  when  she  started 
having  been  left  on  a  number  of  the  stairs. 

"Land!"  she  had  said,  "I  b'lieve  this  pail 
leaks ;  or  else  I  swashed  it  about.  Don't  drag 
your  dress  into  it,  Mis'  Holmes;  though  I  dunno 
as  it  would  do  any  hurt  if  you  did.  Dirt  seems  to 
slip  off  of  you,  like  water  does  off  of  a  duck's 
back.  It  doesn't  do  so  with  me ;  every  blessed 
thing  that  can  stick  to  me,  does." 

"Happy,"  the  lady  had  said,  interrupting  this 
steady  flow  of  words,  "I  have  something  for  you 
which  I  hope  you  will  use.  When  I  was  a  young 
girl,"  she  omitted  to  say  how  young,  "I  had  a 
large-print  Bible,  neatly  bound,  which  was  a  great 
pleasure  to  me.  Every  week  I  had  a  new  verse 
marked  in  it,  in  red,  or  blue,  or  green  ink,  and 
that  verse  I  was  pledged  to  read,  at  least  once 
each  day.  My  Sunday-school  teacher  gave  me 


SHE    FINDS    AN    ACTIVE    MEMBER.  2OQ 

the  book,  and  I  promised  her  I  would  be  faithful 
to  the  daily  readings.  I  learned  to  enjoy  them 
very  much.  Now  I  have  found  a  Bible  as  much 
like  my  copy  as  I  could,  and  marked  one  verse. 
Will  you  take  the  book,  and  promise  to  read  the 
verse  each  day  for  a  week,  and  then  let  me  mark 
another?" 

"Oh,  land!"  said  Happy,  giggling  much,  yet 
looking  pleased,  "I  can't  read  in  the  Bible;  but 
that's  an  awful  pretty  one.  It  doesn't  look  a 
mite  like  the  one  I  used  to  have." 

"It  is  only  one  verse  a  day,"  said  the  lady,  in  a 
persuasive  tone,  "and  the  print  is  large;  it  will 
not  injure  your  eyes." 

Happy's  eyes  were  as  bright  as  jet  beads.  She 
laughed  consciously  over  this  sentence,  then  said, 
blandly:  "Well,  I  don't  mind,  if  it  ain't  but  one 
verse  a  day.  Land !  I'd  do  more  than  that  for 
you  ;  only  I  don't  see  why  you  care.  What  color 
did  you  mark  it  in  ? " 

"Red,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  promptly,  "a  very 
pretty  red  called  carmine ;  and  I  wrote  your  name 
on  the  fly-leaf.  Now,  Happy,  in  giving  you  this 
for  your  own,  of  course  I  trust  you ;  it  is  a  token, 
you  see,  of  the  pledge  between  us  that  you  will 
read  the  verse  each  day." 

"Oh,  I  will,"  said  Happy,  setting  down  her 
pail,  to  rub  her  hands  upon  her  soiled  apron 
before  taking  the  neatly-bound  volume  in  charge, 


2IO  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

then  looking  with  admiring  eyes  at  her  name  writ 
ten  in  full.  "I  declare  for  it,"  she  said,  "it  ain't 
a  bad-looking  name  when  it  is  written  pretty. 
My !  It  must  be  fine  to  make  such  writing  as 
that.  I  admire  pretty  writing,  Mis'  Holmes. 
I've  got  a  friend,"  and  now  there  was  a  conscious 
blush  and  that  ever-present  giggle,  "who  can  write 
nice,  too ;  he  wrote  my  name  once  in  a  book ;  but 
it  ain't  done  as  nice  as  this,  and  I  mean  to  tell 
him  so.  I  most  always  keep  my  word,  Mis' 
Holmes,  when  I  really  and  truly  promise,  down 
right  ;  and  I  will  this  time,  so  there!  " 

Happy  looked  as  though  she  had  made  a  great 
concession  to  the  prejudices  of  the  lady,  one  for 
which  she  deserved  thanks.  She  received  them, 
Mrs.  Holmes  wondering,  meantime,  whether  the 
fair  little  seed  dropped  into  such  unpromising  soil 
would  ever  spring  up  and  bear  fruit. 

"  I  placed  a  card  book-mark  in  the  place  where 
the  verse  is  marked,"  she  said,  as  she  turned 
away.  "You  will  like  the  card,  I  think;  and  you 
can  change  it  from  week  to  week  to  the  newly 
marked  verse.  This  is  Saturday,  is  it  not  ?  I 
think  on  Sunday,  one  week  from  to-morrow,  will 
be  a  good  day  for  a  new  verse." 

Then  she  had  gone  down  stairs,  leaving  Happy 
to  look  at  and  exclaim  over  the  card  book-mark. 
She  might  well  have  liked  it.  Mrs.  Holmes  had 
given  it  an  entire  morning  of  careful  work.  The 


SHE    FINDS    AN    ACTIVE    MEMBER.  211 

name  "  Hepzibah "  was  made  in  delicate  vine- 
wreathed  letters  on  the  center  of  the  card,  and 
winding  about  it  on  a  spray  of  Southern  jessa 
mine  were  painted  the  words :  "  Shall  the  Lord 
'delight'  in  thee  ?  "  While  the  lady  worked,  she 
had  had  a  dim  consciousness  that  many,  perhaps 
most  Christian  workers,  would  consider  this  as 
time  thrown  away,  a  sort  of  "casting  of  pearls" 
before  those  unable  to  appreciate  them.  How 
could  Happy  be  expected  to  understand  the  deli 
cate  hint  in  the  question,  or  appreciate  the  care 
ful  workmanship?  Yet  the  girl  loved  pretty 
things,  and  had  always  a  bright-colored  flower 
or  weed  tucked  into  her  frayed  button-hole,  or 
perched  jauntily  among  the  masses  of  her  frowzly 
hair.  Who  could  tell,  after  all,  what  this  bit  of 
beauty  might  do  for  her  ? 

From  that  encounter  Mrs.  Holmes  had  gone, 
first  to  the  kitchen,  then  to  the  piazza,  to  wait ; 
the  scarcest  thing  in  Mrs.  Stetson's  kitchen  was 
hot  water,  freshly  boiled ;  it  had  nearly  always 
to  be  waited  for.  Mrs.  Holmes  walked  slowly 
back  and  forth,  busy  with  her  thoughts,  and  did 
not  see  Liph  Stetson  until  his  voice  startled 
her. 

"Mornin',  ma'am.  You  was  talking  about 
something  the  other  night  which  made  me  think 
last  night  that  may  be  you  could  do  something 
there,  if  you  had  a  chance ;  and  I  thought  I'd  just 


212  HER   ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

give  you  a  hint,  if  you  can  keep  dark  as  to  where 
you  got  it." 

This  extremely  lucid  beginning  surprised  and 
half  frightened  the  one  to  whom  it  was  addressed. 
Was  she  expected  to  enter  into  partnership  with 
Liph  Stetson  and  "keep  dark"  as  to  his  schemes? 
Uncertain  how  to  reply,  she  concluded  to  let  a 
kindly  smile  and  question  do  for  response. 

"Can  I  help  you  in  any  way?"  and  the  smile 
might  have  won  a  statue  into  response. 

"'Tain't  me,"  said  Liph,  succinctly,  "only  you 
talked  that  way,  as  though  you  was  looking  out 
for  folks,   and    I   thought   maybe  you    might" 
there  he  stopped. 

"Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  encouragingly;  "is 
there  somebody  I  can  look  out  for :  somebody 
who  is  in  trouble  or  danger?" 

"That's  just  it;  I  dunno  about  the  trouble;  I 
guess  she  don't  think  it  is  any  trouble  to  speak 
of;  and  as  for  danger,  why,  that's  the  way  folks 
look  at  it ;  but  you  said  if  I  had  a  sister,  you 
know" 

Another  full  pause.  "  I  remember,"  said  the 
lady,  on  the  alert.  "You  see  something  ahead 
that,  if  the  person  were  your  sister,  you  should 
call  danger.  Is  that  it  ?  Are  you  speaking  of 
Happy?" 

"Happy!"  exclaimed  Liph,  with  a  disdainful 
toss  of  his  shaggy  head  and  a  sort  of  indescribable 


SHE    FINDS    AN    ACTIVE    MEMBER. 

sniff;  "no,  I  ain't!  There's  a  girl  that  ain't  a 
bit  like  her,  that  that  fellow  is  making  up  to  and 
going  around  with,  and  making  believe  he  is 
some,  and  I  dunno  how  much  he  means  nor  how 
much  he  don't  mean ;  only  he's  a  scamp,  if  he  is  a 
gentleman,  and  maybe  you,  bein'  a  woman,  would 
think  there  was  something  you  ought  to  do  or 
might  do,  though  I  dunno  what  it  would  be." 

Mrs.  Holmes  was  very  grave  and  keenly  attent 
ive.  This  mysterious  matter,  whatever  it  was, 
evidently  meant  serious  business  to  Liph  Stet 
son,  and  he  was  making  an  unusual  effort.  She 
wished  she  knew  how  to  aid  him  in  his  unwonted 
work. 

"  Do  you  mean  Mr.  Arson  ? "  she  asked,  lower 
ing  her  voice,  though  there  was  no  person  within 
hearing. 

Liph  nodded  emphatically.  "I  do  that,  ma'am; 
and  he  is  real  out  and  out,  downright  what  you 
might  call  mean,  though  he  is  high  enough  up  in 
some  things,  and  goes  to  places  where  such  as  me 
would  get  kicked  out.  And  he  goes  to  some 
other  places  where  even  such  as  me  wouldn't  be 
seen  going  !  "  There  was  terrible  significance  in 
tone  and  manner.  The  startled  woman  felt  that 
the  boy  of  nineteen,  far  down  the  road  to  ruin, 
knew  what  he  was  talking  about. 

"Only,"  said  Liph,  beginning  again,  and  lower 
ing  at  her  from  under  his  shaggy  brows,  "that 


214  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

ain't  a  thing  to  be  told  over;  I'm  in  scrapes 
enough  now,  without  having  to  stand  a  chance  of 
being  half  killed,  telling  of  things  that  ain't  sup 
posed  to  be  none  of  my  business.  If  you  can't 
keep  dark,  and  if  I  hadn't  had  a  notion  that  you 
could,  why,  then  "  — 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

SHE    DISCOVERS    A    "LOOKOUT    COMMITTEE." 

I  WILL  be  very  careful,  indeed,"  said  Mrs. 
Holmes,  earnestly;  "you  shall  not  be  gotten 
into  any  trouble  through  me.  Will  you  tell  me 
the  name  of  the  girl  whom  you  think  may  be  in 
danger?" 

"She's  a  girl  that  lives  on  Seventh  Street,  just 
out  of  Green.  She  lives  with  her  brother,  and 
her  name  is  Hurst  —  Mad  Hurst  they  call  her.  I 
dunno  what  her  real  name  is  ;  that  is  some  kind 
of  a  nickname,  I  s'pose.  But  she  is  a  nice-look 
ing  girl,  and  she  ain't  got  no  mother,  nor  folks,  to 
take  care  of  her  much,  and  her  brother  wouldn't 
take  no  notice  of  any  thing  I'd  say,  and  would 
just  as  lief  get  me  into  trouble  besides,  and  I 
thought  maybe  "- 

Liph's  full  pauses  were  more  eloquent  than 
his  words.  Mrs.  Holmes  felt  herself  trembling 
with  surprise  and  apprehension  of,  she  hardly 

215 


2l6  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

knew  what ;  but  she  controlled  herself  to  answer 
reassuringly : 

"  I  understand ;  thank  you.  I  will  be  very 
careful,  and  will  do  what  I  can.  You  were  right 
to  tell  me  about  this.  It  is  good  to  be  on  the 
alert  in  this  wicked  world  to  save  people  from 
danger.  It  gives  me  courage  to  think  that  you 
mean  to  save  yourself.  You  have  a  mother,  you 
know." 

But  at  this  Liph  turned  away,  his  duty  done. 
Evidently  he  had  no  intention  of  applying  the 
lesson  of  his  good  deed  to  himself. 

"Wait  just  a  moment,"  Mrs.  Holmes  had  called 
after  him,  and,  moving  forward,  had  spoken  low  : 
"Tell  me,  please,  why  you  thought  of  this  just 
now.  The  person  is  not  here." 

"Yes,  he  is,"  said  Liph;  "he  got  back  last 
night." 

It  was  a  very  grave  and  quiet  woman  who  went 
in  due  time  up  the  stairs  with  a  pitcher  of  hot 
water  and  a  plate  of  toast.  She  had  almost  noth 
ing  to  say  as  she  prepared  a  dainty  morning  meal, 
even  to  the  poaching  of  an  egg  by  the  aid  of  her 
invaluable  alcohol  lamp.  She  was  certainly  a  suc 
cess  this  morning  in  keeping  her  hands  busy  with 
one  line  of  work  and  her  thoughts  on  another. 

Were  the  "fellow"  of  whom  Liph  Stetson 
warned  her,  and  the  "gentleman"  about  whom 
Uncle  Tommy  spoke,  one  and  the  same?  If  so, 


SHE   DISCOVERS    A    LOOKOUT    COMMITTEE. 

what  influence  had  he  over  Madeline  ?  What  was 
he  trying  to  do  with  her  ?  How  far  was  Liph's 
judgment  or  truthfulness  to  be  depended  upon, 
and  in  any  case  what  could  she  do  about  it  ? 
Grave  enough  questions,  certainly.  No  wonder 
they  kept  her  quiet  to  the  degree  that  her  hus 
band  watched  her  with  a  shade  of  anxiety  upon 
his  face.  Was  this  fair  Christian  whom  he  had 
himself  helped  to  rouse  to  earnest  endeavor, 
going  to  indulge  in  her  besetting  sin  again,  and 
overwork  ?  Yet  even  while  he  thought,  and  was 
on  the  verge  of  speech,  there  was  a  sudden  light 
ing  up  of  the  grave  face,  and  she  turned  toward 
him,  smiling  : 

"Stuart,  my  society  is  growing.  Last  night, 
you  know,  I  found  an  active  member,  and  this 
morning,  don't  you  think,  I  have  discovered  a 
'lookout  committee' !  I  am  not  going  to  tell  you 
about  it,  not  now,  because  you  must  eat  your 
breakfast,  and  the  doctor  said  I  must  entertain 
you  while  you  ate." 

"Your  lookout  committee  is  not  entertaining, 
then?" 

She  laughed  softly. 

"There  are  circumstances  under  which  it  might 
be,  but  there  is  a  story  connected  with  it,  which 
you  shall  hear  when  you  are  stronger." 

"I  am  stronger  now,"  he  said,  sitting  upright; 
"you  and  the  doctor  pet  me  altogether  too  much. 


2l8  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

I  give  you  warning  that  I  am  not  to  be  done  in 
pink  cotton  and  laid  aside  much  longer.  I'm 
almost  ready  to  become  an  active  member  again 
myself,  Chrissy." 

This  time  her  laugh  was  free,  and  her  face 
aglow  with  gladness.  The  happy  wife  remem 
bered  that  whatever  anxiety  and  danger  there 
might  be  in  the  world  her  own  cup  of  gratitude 
was  full  to  overflowing. 

"  Chrissy,"  called  her  husband  on  the  afternoon 
of  that  same  day,  as  she  was  passing  through  the 
room,  "have  you  something  on  your  programme 
which  demands  an  hour  or  two  of  absence?  And, 
if  so,  is  not  that  useful  maiden,  Hepzibah,  with 
her  inevitable  book,  needed  elsewhere  than  at  my 
door?" 

His  wife  halted  before  his  chair  in  smiling  won 
der.  "What  does  all  this  mean?  Do  you  feel 
anxious  to  be  rid  of  me  for  that  length  of  time? " 

His  answering  smile  was  very  bright.  "I  have 
been  wondering  whether  I  could  not  entice  that 
poor  fellow  over  here  to  look  after  my  needs  for 
awhile,  on  the  plea  of  benevolence,  or  something 
of  that  sort,  and  so  find  opportunity,  perhaps,  to 
speak  a  word  to  him  which  might  be  helpful.  I 
have  been  watching  him  sitting  over  on  that  gro 
cery  step.  He  is  the  most  dreary -looking  person 
I  have  seen  since  we  came  here.  I  have  a  long 
ing  desire  to  try  to  reach  him." 


SHE    DISCOVERS    A    LOOKOUT    COMMITTEE.      2IQ 

"  Do  you  mean  Liph  ?  Oh,  poor  fellow !  there 
he  is.  He .  sits  on  that  door-step  nearly  every 
afternoon,  and  appears  so  dreary  and  aimless. 
What  a  thing  it  would  be  if  some  power  sufficient 
to  arouse  him  could  take  hold  of  the  boy ! " 

"Whoa!"  said  the  clear  voice  of  the  doctor, 
and  he  reined  in  his  ponies  before  their  door. 

"Ah,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  "instead  of  my  going 
out  for  an  hour,  I  think  it  will  be  you ;  the  doctor 
is  in  search  of  company,  I  presume." 

But  having  carefully  questioned  his  patient,  and 
expressed  satisfaction  with  his  progress,  Dr.  Port 
land  turned  to  the  lady : 

"Have  you  broken  your  contract?"  he  said, 
with  an  air  of  great  gravity. 

"My  contract !  " 

"Yes,  your  contract.  Do  you  mean  to  say  you 
ignore  it  ?  It  will  not  do,  madam  ;  I  am  perfectly 
familiar  with  evasions  of  that  kind  ;  still,  I  admit 
I  did  not  expect  it  of  you.  Did  not  you  promise 
to  take  me  into  partnership  ?  And  did  not  I 
expressly  stipulate  that  there  should  be  no  third 
party  to  the  concern  ? " 

"Oh,  well,  I  have  kept  my  pledge,  or,  rather, 
your  pledge ;  if  I  remember  correctly,  I  made 
none.  But  I  have  said  almost  nothing  to  Mr. 
Holmes  about  my  friends  and  their  needs  since 
that  day." 

"Oh,  'Mr.  Holmes!'      Who  has  mentioned  his 


22O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

name?  That  is  just  like  a  married  woman;  she 
believes  there  is  only  one  man  in  the  world, 
and  he  has  the  honor  to  be  her  husband !  Mr. 
Holmes,  I  entered  into  a  business  contract  with 
this  lady — I  was  to  give  advice,  and,  otherwise  — 
in  short,  assistance  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  to 
her  patients  of  all  sorts  and  conditions,  and  only 
stipulated  in  return  that  I  should  be  sole  partner 
in  the  concern  ;  and,  behold,  to-day  I  discover  a 
rival  in  the  person  of  Uncle  Tommy." 

"  Uncle  Tommy  ?"  repeated  Mrs.  Holmes,  start 
led  and  a  little  disturbed.  What  had  he  been 
saying  to  Dr.  Portland  ?  There  was  an  instant 
fear  lest  Madeline  Hurst  was  involved  in  some 
way.  She  waited  anxiously  for  further  words, 
but  the  doctor  regarded  her  with  a  serious  face 
and  an  air  of  mock  disapproval. 

"Do  you  call  that  honorable  treatment,  Mr. 
Holmes?"  he  continued,  still  addressing  her  hus 
band.  "Here  is  Uncle  Tommy  stopping  me  on 
the  street  when  I  am  in  great  haste,  and  calmly 
giving  me  advice  concerning  my  own  patients. 
'I  think,  sir,  the  madam  at  Mrs.  Stetson's  would 
do  something  for  her  —  something  that  you  and 
I  cannot  do.'  Those  were  his  words.  'You  and 
I,'  indeed  !  As  though  we  were  equals  in  skill 
and  experience,  and  'the  madam'  was  superior  to 
us  both  !" 

"A    patient    of    yours!"    said    Mrs.    Holmes, 


SHE   DISCOVERS   A   LOOKOUT   COMMITTEE.      221 

relieved.  Madeline  Hurst  was  not  ill,  for  she  had 
seen  her  in  the  distance  that  morning.  "Who  is 
there  that  I  can  help,  Dr.  Portland  ? " 

"I  don't  know,  I'm  sure.  If  Uncle  Tommy  is 
to  be  believed  —  and  he  is  evidently  a  partner  — 
you  can  do  more  than  I ;  which  is  not  saying 
much,  for  I  frankly  confess  my  inability  to  do  any 
thing  to  speak  of.  The  question  is,  how  do  you 
reconcile  it  with  your  conscience  to  have  made  a 
confidant  of  Uncle  Tommy,  after  my  express 
proviso." 

"Sit  down,  Doctor,"  said  Mr.  Holmes,  "and 
tell  us  what  you  are  talking  about." 

"I  haven't  time  to  sit,  and  I'm  talking  about  a 
sick  woman  who  lives  two  miles  out  of  town,  and 
to  whom  Uncle  Tommy  says  'the  madam'  can  do 
more  good  than  either  he  or  I.  I  give  myself 
credit  for  great  discernment.  I  did  not  so  much 
as  ask  Uncle  Tommy  what  madam  he  meant! 
There  was  a  sort  of  intuitive  perception  about  it. 
It  only  remains  to  learn  whether  she  will  take  a 
seat  in  my  carriage,  and  be  driven  out  to  the  said 
sick  woman's  to  try  her  skill." 

"What  is  the  matter  with  the  sick  woman?" 
demanded  Mr.  Holmes,  with  such  emphasis  that 
the  doctor  faced  around  to  him  and  answered 
with  great  gravity,  "  It  is  a  case  of  small-pox  and 
typhoid  combined,  with  a  touch  of  yellow  fever, 
or  something  of  that  sort,  thrown  in."  . 


222  HER   ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"  No,  but  seriously,  doctor,  of  course  I  can  not 
allow  Mrs.  Holmes  to  go  where  there  is  any  grave 
disease.  She  is  not  strong  enough  for  any  thing 
of  that  sort." 

"Oh,  I  have  not  mentioned  any  thing  grave, 
you  know  —  just  those  trifling  ailments!  Seri 
ously,  my  friend,  do  you  suppose  for  a  moment 
that  I  would  ask  your  wife  to  go  to  a  place  of 
danger?  The  woman  of  whom  I  spoke  is  gravely 
ill,  I  fear,  but  it  is  a  case  of  mind  more  than  body. 
She  is  simply  broken  down  under  the  weight  of  a 
life  which  has  been  too  much  for  her.  If  you 
could  ride  out  and  speak  a  word  to  her,  Mrs. 
Holmes,  there  is  a  possibility  that  you  might 
bring  a  little  comfort  into  her  tired  heart." 

One  of  those  sudden  changes  of  which  this 
mercurial  doctor  was  capable  had  come  upon  him. 
He  was  gravity  itself,  combined  with  a  certain 
gentle  deference  which  became  him  well.  It 
ended,  of  course,  in  Mrs.  Holmes  accompanying 
him  on  this  new  mission  of  mercy.  Not  very 
courageously,  it  is  true ;  her  brief  experience  as 
a  Christian  worker  had  not  brought  her  into  con 
tact  with  the  abject  poor,  either  among  sick  or 
well.  She  had  grave  doubts  as  to  her  being  able 
to  meet  Uncle  Tommy's  hopes  in  these  directions. 
She  questioned  the  doctor  as  they  rode,  hoping  to 
learn  something  of  what  was  expected  of  her,  but, 
if  he  understood,  he  did  not  offer  to  enlighten  her. 


SHE    DISCOVERS    A   LOOKOUT   COMMITTEE.      223 

"I  am  a  novice  in  these  lines,"  he  said.  "The 
poor  woman  evidently  needs  something  which 
is  beyond  my  reach,  and  which  Uncle  Tommy 
thinks  you  can  supply ;  whether  you  can,  or  not, 
remains  to  be  seen." 

What  a  home  it  was  into  which  this  young 
novice  in  human  sorrow  was  presently  ushered ! 
A  single  room,  which  served  as  dining,  kitchen 
and  sleeping-room  for  five  persons !  Three  chil 
dren,  in  various  stages  of  disorder  and  discomfort, 
hovered  about  a  bed,  on  which  lay  the  suffering 
mother. 

Poor  Chrissy  Holmes,  with  her  dainty  tastes 
and  over-sensitive  nerves,  never  forgot  that  pic 
ture  of  suffering  and  misery.  Mrs.  Carpenter's 
one  clean  room  was  a  palace  compared  with  this ! 

"The  very  first  thing  needed  here  is  water," 
she  said  to  the  doctor  in  a  low  tone;  "and  soap 
and  towels  and  clean  sheets  and  pillow  cases." 

"Hard  to  compass,"  he  said,  surveying  her 
with  a  composed  satisfaction  which  was  exasper 
ating  ;  "  water  I  could  secure,  but  the  other  arti 
cles  mentioned  are  beyond  me,  I  fear." 

"Why  didn't  you  tell  me  ?  "  she  asked,  reproach 
fully  ;  "  I  could  have  brought  so  many  things  !  " 

"  How  was  I  to  know  the  style  of  ministration 
expected  of  you  ? " 

Mrs.  Holmes  turned  from  him  in  grave  dis 
pleasure.  The  easy,  bantering  tone  seemed  to 


224  to£k    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

her,  heartless.  But  in  a  moment  she  glanced  back 
to  say  with  decision  : 

"  Get  me  some  water,  please ;  at  least,  the  poor 
creature  can  have  her  face  bathed." 

A  moment  more  and  she  had  shaken  out  and 
dropped  into  the  suspicious-looking  hand  basin 
which  the  doctor  promptly  produced,  a  plain  linen 
pocket  handkerchief. 

"  It  feels  good,"  said  the  poor  woman,  grate 
fully,  as  the  cool  water  touched  her  burning  skin ; 
"I've  been  too  sick  to  try  to  do  any  thing  for 
myself,  and  the  young  ones  are  too  little  to  help. 
He  does  what  he  can,  nights,  when  he  gets  in  ; 
but  it  ain't  much  a  man  can  do,  when  he's  been  to 
work  all  day,  and  there  ain't  any  thing  to  do  with. 
I've  been  sick  nigh  on  to  four  weeks  now,  and  no 
washing  done,  and  there  ain't  a  clean  thing 
nowhere." 

It  was  too  evident  that  she  spoke  the  truth. 
The  very  little  which  Mrs.  Holmes  could  do  with 
water  and  a  pocket  handkerchief  was  soon  accom 
plished  ;  and,  after  a  very  short  talk  with  the 
woman,  her  resolve  was  taken. 

"Dr  Portland,  I  shall  have  to  be  driven  home 
and  brought  back  here;  there  are  a  dozen  things 
which  this  woman  needs  that  I  could  have  sup 
plied  had  I  known  the  state  of  things.  There  is 
nothing  to  be  done  now  but  to  go  for  them." 

"Very  well,"  said  the  doctor,  in  utmost  gravity, 


SHE    DISCOVERS    A    LOOKOUT    COMMITTEE.      22  5 

quite  as  though  he  had  devoted  his  life  to  car 
rying  people  and  parcels  to  and  fro.  "  I  am 
entirely  at  your  service  for  the  afternoon." 

It  was  a  silent  drive  for  several  minutes.  At 
last  Mrs.  Holmes  began  her  investigations  : 

"  What  brought  about  such  a  state  of  things  — 
rum  ?" 

''For  a  wonder,  no;  it  is  generally  at  the  bot 
tom  of  this  sort  of  poverty ;  but  the  man  does  not 
drink,  at  least  not  often,  and  is  a  decent  sort  of 
a  fellow." 

"Then,  why  are  they  so  wretchedly  poor?" 

"They  are  incapables,  Mrs.  Holmes;  in  intel 
lect  both  husband  and  wife  are  children.  They 
assumed  the  responsibilities  and  duties  of  man  and 
woman  at  an  age  when  they  should  have  been 
reckoned  as  children,  and  have  been  retrograding 
ever  since.  The  man  is  stupid  and  shiftless ;  a 
little  boy  instead  of  a  man.  He  earns  his  dollar  a 
day  quite  frequently ;  but  if  he  does  not  feel  like 
work,  or  the  work  which  offers  is  not  exactly  to 
his  mind,  why,  he  drops  out  and  waits  for  some 
thing  better.  His  wife  spends  the  little  money 
he  brings  her  in  a  perfectly  inane  way.  If  she 
chooses  to  have  spring  chicken  at  a  time  when 
they  are  sixty  cents  a  pound,  why,  she  has  spring 
chicken,  without  regard  to  the  fact  that  those 
towels  and  sheets  and  other  small  matters  for 
which  you  were  looking  are  non  est.  In  like  man- 


226  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

ner,  if  both  husband  and  wife  want  to  take  the 
children  and  go  to  a  show  of  any  sort,  and  the 
required  quarters  can  be  raised,  they  go,  taking  no 
thought  for  the  morrow.  If  they  want  a  gold 
watch,  or  a  brussels  carpet,  or  any  trifle  of  that 
sort,  they  buy  it,  generally  on  the  installment 
plan,  and  take  all  the  comfort  they  can  out  of  it 
during  the  brief  time  in  which  they  may  call  it 
theirs." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

SHE  ILLUSTRATES  THEOLOGY. 

THE   installment   plan?"   said   Mrs.    Holmes, 
in  bewilderment. 

"  Has  that  ingenious  device  of  His  Satanic 
Majesty  for  swindling  the  poor,  escaped  your 
notice  ?  In  brief,  it  is  managed  after  this  fash 
ion  :  You  are  Mrs.  Jenkins,  we  will  say,  and  need, 
or  are  fully  convinced  that  your  future  well-being 
depends  upon  a  fifteen-dollar  mirror,  worth  in 
extreme  figures  two  dollars.  It  so  happens  that 
I  am  Mr.  Skinflint,  agent  for  Messrs.  Cheatem  & 
Co.  On  the  very  day  when  the  extreme  limit  of 
your  patience  has  been  reached  and  you  have 
declared  that  life  without  the  fifteen-dollar  mirror 
is  insupportable,  I  appear  to  you  with  a  bland 
face,  and  the  mirror  under  my  arm,  and  explain 
that  I  have  been  unable  to  sleep  nights  on 
account  of  your  forlorn  condition  without  that 
mirror;  I  have  resolved,  under  the  circumstances, 
and  merely  as  a  matter  of  charity,  to  do  some- 
227 


228  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

thing  for  you  which  I  could  not  think  of  doing 
for  many  people,  and  therefore  it  is  earnestly 
desired  that  you  will  keep  the  matter  a  profound 
secret.  I  have  determined  to  sacrifice  myself, 
and  allow  you  to  buy  that  mirror,  by  giving  me 
a  dollar  a  week  until  all  is  paid.  I  will  give  you 
a  receipt  in  black  and  white  for  every  dollar;  and 
you  will  have  the  exalted  privilege  of  using  the 
mirror  from  the  very  minute  that  you  pay  your 
first  dollar.  And  at  this  unparalleled  benevo 
lence  on  my  part  I  am  tempted  to  shed  admiring 
tears.  Certainly  such  sacrificing  disinterested 
ness  is  rare  in  this  wicked  world !  The  mirror 
is  set  up,  and  you,  Mrs.  Jenkins,  worship  at  its 
shrine ;  and  I,  Mr.  Skinflint,  appear  as  promptly 
as  the  day,  after  that  paltry  dollar.  If  it  so  hap 
pen  that  work  continues,  and  all  goes  well  in  your 
household,  by  dint  of  much  starving  of  the  chil 
dren,  and  much  doing  without  the  aforesaid  towels 
and  sheets,  in  fifteen  weeks  you  are  the  happy 
owner  of  the  two-dollar  mirror,  and  Messrs. 
Cheatem  &  Co.  are  richer  by  thirteen  dollars  than 
they  were.  But  this  is  an  unusual  state  of 
things  ;  the  Jenkins  household  does  not,  as  a  rule, 
move  on  in  such  even  lines ;  the  more  probable 
experience  is  that  work  will  fail,  or  some  of  the 
smaller  members,  of  whom  there  are  always  sev 
eral,  will  get  sick,  and  on  the  seventh  or  eighth 
visit  there  will  be  no  dollar  forthcoming;  I,  being 


SHE    ILLUSTRATES    THEOLOGY.  229 

still  a  most  benevolent  Mr.  Skinflint,  will  express 
my  deep  regret,  and  go  to  the  extreme  limit  of 
indulgence  and  wait  a  week ;  at  the  end  of  that 
time  the  probabilities  are  strong  that  you,  Mrs. 
Jenkins,  will  be  no  better  able  to  pay  the  two 
dollars  then  due  than  you  were  to  pay  the  one; 
and  I,  with  many  regrets,  indeed  almost  with 
tears,  take  the  two-dollar  mirror  under  my  arm 
and  march  sorrowfully  away.  I  have  received 
nine  dollars  for  it,  we  will  say,  and  I  shrewdly 
suspect  that  the  Jenkinses,  through  continued 
misfortunes,  will  not  be  able  to  give  me  any 
more ;  so  I  carry  the  mirror  to  Mrs.  Jones,  on  the 
next  block,  and  proceed  to  sell  it  again  at  fifteen 
dollars.  If  I  am  a  good,  reliable  agent,  and  if 
life  is  reasonably  hard  during  that  season  on 
Ninth  Street  and  vicinity,  I  may  sell  that  precious 
mirror  for  as  much  as  fifty  dollars,  and  have  it  in 
my  possession,  as  good  as  new,  when  the  spring 
opens.  Do  you  get  the  points  ?" 

"  But  surely,  Dr.  Portland,  such  infamous  cheat 
ing  can  not  be  going  on  to  any  great  extent  ?" 

"  Why  not  ?  I  assure  you  there  has  been  no 
reason  yet  evolved  by  this  benevolent  world  why 
it  can  not.  The  installment  business,  as  just 
explained,  is  a  favorite  one  I  am  inclined  to  think, 
in  most  cities  of  any  size ;  certainly  it  is  a  favor 
ite  one  here.  After  taking  out  that  omnipresent 
and  all-important  agent,  rum,  it  may  safely  be  set 


23O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

down  as  the  next  best  business  for  ruining  the 
poor  which  has  yet  been  discovered.  I  know  of 
dozens  of  families  where  it  is  being  carried  on 
with  a  degree  of  success  and  perseverance  which 
would  arouse  your  admiration,  if  you  understood 
it  as  well  as  I  do." 

"Dr.  Portland,  why  do  not  people  do  something 
to  save  the  poor  and  ignorant  from  the  grasp  of 
such  persons  as  you  have  been  describing?" 

"My  dear  madam,  what  would  you  suggest? 
This  is  a  free  country,  and  the  average  citizen  has 
a  right  to  ruin  himself,  financially  and  morally,  if 
he  will.  Even  if  the  system  invariably  worked 
misery  and  ruin,  I  presume  a  free  and  enlight 
ened  nation  would  license  the  business,  for  a 
consideration  !  " 

Mrs.  Holmes  seemed  to  have  no  answer  ready, 
and  they  drove  on  in  silence  for  some  minutes. 
Then  the  doctor  spoke  again  in  grave  earnestness. 

"  Mrs.  Holmes,  this  visit  has  started  me  on  one 
of  my  hobbies.  I  feel  deeply  over  this  subject  of 
the  honest  and  incapable  poor.  The  woman  to 
whom  I  have  introduced  you  is,  as  I  have  intima 
ted,  a  typical  case.  She  married  young,  long 
before  she  ought  to  have  been  through  with  girl 
hood —  the  most  of  her  class  do.  She  married  a 
man  even  beneath  her  in  intellect  and  judgment; 
as  a  rule,  most  women  of  her  class  do  that  also. 
She  did  not  know  how  to  keep  her  house  or  rear 


SHE    ILLUSTRATES    THEOLOGY.  23  £ 

her  children ;  she  did  not  know  how  to  buy  food 
or  clothes ;  she  did  not  know  how  to  manage 
either,  after  they  were  bought.  She  is  at  the 
mercy  of  the  sharpers  of  this  world,  who  see  in 
her  and  her  husband,  willing  dupes,  from  whom 
can  be  extorted  the  small  earnings  which  ought  to 
be  used  in  the  support  of  their  family.  For  this 
large  and  constantly  increasing  company  of  incapa- 
bles,  almost  nothing  is  being  done  systematically. 
When  they  reach  a  situation  of  absolute  want,  a 
humane  individual,  or  society,  will  take  hold  of 
them,  furnish  food  and  clothing,  and  nurse  them 
back  to  life,  if  possible,  only  that  they  may  go 
through  the  same  miserable  story  again  and  again, 
until  the  common  poor-house  receives  them,  pau 
pers  in  name  as  well  as  condition,  or  until  the 
grave  closes  over  them.  As  for  doing  something 
for  them  which  shall  work  a  radical  change  in 
their  condition,  save  them  from  paupers'  graves  at 
last,  next  to  nothing  is  being  attempted,  at  least 
in  this  part  of  the  world,  and  very  little  any  where, 
unless  my  knowledge  is  greatly  at  fault." 
"But,  Dr.  Portland,  what  could  be  done?" 
"  Pardon  me ;  you  ought  to  know  much  better 
than  I.  If  there  is  any  thing  in  the  church  of 
which  we  hear  so  much,  it  ought  to  be  able  to 
take  hold  of  this  problem  with  a  will,  and  work 
results  which  should  tell  for  future  generations. 
How  to  buy  and  cook  and  make  and  mend  and 


232  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

plan  and  systematize  —  that  is  what  the  decent 
poor  need,  more  than  they  do  tracts  or  Bibles,  in 
my  humble  judgment." 

"  I  beg  pardon,  doctor,  but  it  seems  to  me  that 
just  now  you  are  talking  about  a  phase  of  the  sub 
ject  which  you  do  not  understand.  There  is 
solemn  truth  in  all  you  have  said,  only  if  you 
understood  and  ordered  your  life  by  the  Bible, 
you  would  see  at  once  that  it  is  of  all  things  what 
the  ignorant  poor,  and  all  other  poor  mortals, 
want,  and  that  if  the  world  but  followed  its  plain 
directions  all  the  wrongs  would  be  righted." 

The  doctor  regarded  the  flushed  face  and  flash 
ing  eyes  of  the  speaker  with  a  curious  smile. 
Presently  he  replied :  "  You  may  be  right ;  I 
acknowledge  that  I  am  meddling  with  a  subject 
which  I  do  not  pretend  to  understand,  but  I  am 
sometimes  unable  to  forget  that  when  I  was  a 
youngster  somebody  taught  me  what  purported  to 
be  Bible  words,  which  ran  something  like  this  : 
'By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them.'  And  I  am 
only  anxious  to  see  a  little  of  the  fruit ;  for  a  har 
vest  of  that  sort  is  sadly  needed,  as  sure  as  you 
live.  Why,  even  the  graveyard  secures  an  annual 
harvest  of  little  children  from  this  very  city,  for 
the  simple  reason  that  a  thousand  mothers  in  it 
have  not  the  least  idea  how  to  take  care  of  their 
babies.  Now,  Mrs.  Holmes,  since  we  are  upon 
this  rather  grave  and  bewildering  subject,  will  you 


SHE    ILLUSTRATES    THEOLOGY.  233 

permit  me  to  ask  you  a  question  which  has  often 
bewildered  me?  It  is  undeniable  that  there  is 
a  great  deal  of  misery  in  this  world,  which  you, 
for  instance,  would  set  right  if  you  had  power. 
Why,  even  such  a  worthless  fellow  as  I,  come 
every  day  in  contact  with  distress  which  it  would 
not  take  me  half  a  moment  to  banish,  if  I  only 
could.  Given  a  Being  who  has  all  power,  who 
has  but  to  speak,  and  the  thing  is  done  —  and 
that  is,  I  suppose,  your  conception  of  God  —  the 
question  is,  why  does  He  permit  the  evident  evil 
which  exists  ? " 

Mrs.  Holmes  could  hardly  hold  her  lips  from 
curving  into  a  smile;  this  was  so  like  the  passion 
ate  outcry  of  her  school-girl  days;  it  seemed  such 
an  infinite  pity  that  this  keen-brained  man  had 
gotten  no  further ! 

"It  is  a  question  easy  to  ask,  but  difficult  to 
answer,"  she  said,  quietly,  "when  the  questioner 
is  not  a  Christian.  I  might  remind  you  that  I 
heard  you  one  day  commend  a  mother  in  unmeas 
ured  terms  because  she  steadily  refused  what  her 
child  was  coaxing  and  crying  for.  You  remember 
that  the  mother,  by  this  firmness,  caused  the  child 
much  suffering,  which  another  child  standing  by, 
with  no  more  judgment  than  the  suffering  one 
had,  would  most  probably  have  instantly  relieved 
had  the  power  been  his." 

"Ah,  but,   Mrs.    Holmes,   is   not  this   begging 


234  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

the  question  the  least  in  the  world  ?  The  food 
for  which  the  poor  child  was  crying  would  have 
wrought  infinite  mischief,  but  what  you  and  I  pro 
pose  to  do  we  believe,  and  can  even  see,  ought  to 
be  done." 

"Am  I  God,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  with  exceed 
ing  gravity,  "that  I  should  presume  to  arrange 
his  work  for  him  ? " 

"Then  you  really  think  that  my  rascally  agent 
ought  to  have  sold  his  two-dollar  mirror  for  fif 
teen  dollars  ? " 

"  Have  I  said  any  thing  to  make  you  think  me 
so  devoid  of  common  sense?  I  did  not  know  you 
were  quarreling  with  the  fact  of  sin,  but  rather 
arraigning  God  for  his  attitude  toward  it." 

"Well,  the  one  thought  includes  the  other,  does 
it  not  ?  Would  not  you  and  I  abolish  the  fact  of 
sin  if  we  could  ?  " 

"I  do  not  know.  If  we  had  that  power,  we 
might  manage  the  world  very  differently  from  the 
way  we  think  we  should.  Dr.  Portland,  I  might 
be  able  to  tie  the  hands  of  a  child,  and  in  that 
way  keep  him  from  the  act  of  stealing,  but  would 
I  not  rather  leave  him  free  to  do  as  he  would  and 
teach  him  to  will  not  to  steal  ?  In  other  words, 
do  you  mean  that  you  think  God  made  a  mistake 
in  giving  us  the  power  to  weigh,  to  reason,  to 
decide  ?  Would  you  rather  be  a  machine  obliged 
to  run  in  a  certain  groove?" 


SHE    ILLUSTRATES    THEOLOGY.  235 

Dr.  Portland  laughed  lightly. 

"My  dear  madam,"  he  said,  "I  was  brought  up 
on  discussions  of  the  will,  and  total  depravity, 
and  matters  of  that  sort.  I  heard  them  in  my 
cradle.  That  is  the  reason  why  I  know  nothing 
whatever  about  them  now.  No,  I  would  rather 
not  be  a  machine.  It  is  a  fact  that  I  enjoy  the 
power  to  weigh  and  choose,  but  so  does  my  friend 
Mrs.  Jenkins,  of  whom  I  have  been  telling  you, 
and  the  truth  is  that  it  does  not  seem  to  me  that 
it  is  good  for  her  to  be  so  allowed.  If  she  and 
all  the  great  sisterhood  which  she  represents 
could  be  set  back  into  childhood  with  a  stroke, 
and  commanded  to  do  this,  do  that,  go  here,  go 
there,  it  would  be  infinitely  better  for  her,  and  I 
can  not  help  seeing  it." 

Tears  sprang  to  Mrs.  Holmes'  eyes,  and  her 
voice  was  full  of  feeling. 

"  Ah,  but,  Dr.  Portland,  you  forget ;  in  order 
for  women  to  be  benefited  by  the  controlling 
voice,  they  must  be  willing  and  glad  to  be  con 
trolled  and  led.  Given  that,  and  how  entirely 
you  have  expressed  the  need  and  the  Lord's  pro 
vision  for  it !  Has  he  not  made  it  possible  for 
every  one  of  us  to  choose  to  be  children,  led  by 
his  voice,  by  his  smile,  by  his  love  ?  Believe  me, 
dear  friend,  the  trouble  lies  in  the  reckless  deter 
mination  of  the  child  to  manage  for  himself." 

The  remainder  of  that  day  was  spent  in  such 


236  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

evident  practical  Christianity  as  must  surely  have 
delighted  the  heart  of  Dr.  Portland.  Mrs.  Holmes 
most  unceremoniously  and  with  energy  pressed 
him  into  service.  Before  the  early  twilight  had 
come  upon  them,  another  trip  had  been  made  to 
the  sick  woman's  home,  and  this  time  the  carriage 
was  laden  with  a  score  of  articles  deemed  by  the 
lady  in  charge  absolute  necessities.  The  doctor 
looked  on,  silent  and  amused  over  some  of  them, 
and  sat  on  the  ridge  of  the  seat  to  make  room 
for  them,  and  handled  them  with  care  and  skill 
when  their  journey  was  over.  On  the  whole, 
though  Mrs.  Holmes  felt  almost  dismayed  over 
the  poverty  of  her  resources,  the  sick-room,  and, 
above  all,  the  bed,  presented  a  very  different 
appearance  when  at  last  they  turned  homeward. 

"She  has  dropped  into  a  quiet  sleep,"  said 
the  doctor,  coming  on  tiptoe  from  the  bedside, 
whither  he  had  gone  to  take  a  professional  last 
look;  "when  she  wakens  she  will  not  know  her 
self,  and  somebody  ought  to  be  here  to  introduce 
her  to  her  husband.  That  is  what  I  call  Chris 
tianity,  Mrs.  Holmes." 

"It  is  only  one  phase  of  it,"  said  that  lady, 
quietly,  "and  the  founder  of  Christianity  rated  it 
quite  as  highly  as  you  can." 

In  the  evening,  when  she  occupied  her  favorite 
seat  on  a  low  hassock  in  front  of  her  husband's 
invalid-chair,  her  hand  resting  on  his  knee,  she 


SHE    ILLUSTRATES    THEOLOGY.  237 

produced  one  of  the  questions  about  which  her 
mind  had  been  revolving. 

"Stuart,  how  long  did  you  live  in  that  queer 
fashion  about  which  you  were  telling  me  a  few 
days  ago  —  when  you  were  in  college,  you  know  ?  " 

"What,  boarding  myself?  Why,  I  spent  the 
last  year  of  my  college  course  in  that  interesting 
way." 

"  Why  did  you  do  it  ?  I  do  not  understand.  I 
thought  Father  Holmes  was  always  in  good  cir 
cumstances,  and  delighted  to  help  you  through 
your  course." 

"  He  was  and  he  did  ;  helped  me  royally,  as  mere 
money  could  never  have  done ;  he  was  a  blessed 
father,  Chrissy.  But  about  the  boarding  myself, 
I  had  a  special  reason  for  that.  Bravado  some  of 
the  boys  called  it.  Perhaps  there  was  a  touch  of 
that  element  in  it,  though  I  remember  I  was  indig 
nant  over  the  suggestion.  Boys  do  not  under 
stand  themselves  as  well  at  the  time  as  they  do 
when  they  can  look  back  upon  their  lives.  There 
was  a  fellow  in  college,  Chrissy,  in  whom  I  was 
interested  in  a*  peculiar  manner.  He  was  very 
poor,  and  inclined  to  consider  poverty  an  insuper 
able  barrier  to  many  things  which  else  he  could 
have  attained.  He  was  sorely  tempted  to  give  up 
his  college  course  because  certain  hoped-for  mon 
eys  failed  him,  and  he  had  a  precariously  small 
amount  to  depend  upon.  I  urged  him  to  board 


238  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

himself,  and  insisted  that  he  could  do  it  on  the 
sum  which  he  had ;  the  other  boys  said  he 
couldn't.  I  pressed  the  matter,  and  grew  eloquent 
over  it ;  finally  offered  to  prove  it  by  actual  per 
sonal  illustration.  So  I  fitted  up  the  room  next  to 
his  and  went  in;  cooked  my  own  food  (what  could 
not  be  bought  ready  cooked),  and  managed  the  bill 
of  fare  for  him  as  well  as  myself;  gave  him  not  a 
cent's  worth  of  help,  and  carried  him  through  the 
year  in  triumph  on  healthful  food  and  enough  of 
it.  The  only  partnership  business  we  had  was  in 
the  dish-washing,  and  over  that  we  quarreled  fre 
quently.  Why  are  you  wearing  so  radiant  a  face, 
my  dear  little  wife  ?  " 

"Oh,  Stuart,  I  wondered  if  there  were  not 
some  such  explanation.  It  is  like  you !  that  is  all 
one  who  knows  you  need  to  say.  And  it  gives 
me  courage  to  talk  over  with  you  the  strangest 
fancy.  What  is  needed,  Stuart,  among  the  poor, 
is  to  do  on  a  larger  scale  just  what  you  did  for 
one,  and  to  do  it  by  practical  illustration,  too.  If 
there  were  only  a  large,  plain  house  here  where  a 
few  people  could  start  the  scheme,  I  should  like 
so  much  to  show  them  how  to  live  comfortably 
on  very  small  sums  of  money.  They  do  not 
know  how  to  buy  food,  Stuart,  nor  to  prepare  it 
after  it  is  bought ;  and  they  live  in  such  desolate 
homes,  when  they  might  have  comforts,  and  even 
luxuries.  But  to  do  any  thing  of  that  sort  it 


SHE    ILLUSTRATES    THEOLOGY.  239 

would  be  necessary  to  go  and  live  among  them, 
and  manage  every  thing  for  a  time,  and  live  just 
as  they  did." 

"  What  an  immense  scheme !  It  fairly  takes 
my  breath  away.  Is  that  what  you  and  the  doc 
tor  evolved  out  of  your  charitable  trip  to-day?" 

"  I  evolved  it  out  of  his  cynicisms.  He  charges 
Christianity  with  indifference  and  criminal  neg 
lect  of  the  honest  poor ;  and  the  worst  of  it  is 
I  am  afraid  there  are  grains  of  truth  in  his 
criticisms." 

"Well,  dear,  I  believe  I  am  ready  to  join  you 
as  heartily  as  possible  in  any  plan  which  is  reason 
able.  We  must  talk  it  over,  and  think  it  over. 
We  are  not  in  such  entrancing  quarters  here  that 
it  would  involve  a  tremendous  personal  sacrifice 
to  make  a  change.  But  what  would  become  of 
poor  Mrs.  Stetson  in  such  an  event  ? " 

Mrs.  Holmes  looked  troubled. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  "and  Liph,  and  Happy?  It 
was  those  two  I  wanted  to  get  hold  of.  Oh, 
Stuart,  I  am  afraid  there  is  no  way  of  doing  that, 
or  any  thing,  for  them." 

"Yes,  there  is,"  the  sick  man  said,  heartily; 
"  He  has  a  way ;  he  has  sent  us  here  to  help 
them ;  we  must  let  him  lead.  There  will  be  a 
'next  step'  by  and  by,  Chrissy." 


CHAPTER   XX. 

SHE    RECEIVES,    TO    ACTIVE    MEMBERSHIP. 

IT  is  a  pity  that  Mrs.  Holmes  could  not  have 
had  a  picture  of  Hepzibah  Smithers,  as  she 
set  her  smoky  little  lamp  on  an  over-turned  box 
which  did  duty  in  her  room  as  a  toilet  table,  and 
drew  her  one  wooden-seated  chair  toward  it  for 
the  purpose  of  fulfilling  her  pledge  and  reading 
that  marked  verse  in  her  Bible.  There  was  an 
air  of  resoluteness  about  the  girl,  as  though  she 
had  resolved  once  for  all  to  enter  martyrdom  and 
conquer  the  verse  before  she  slept.  She  was 
very  tired  and  unusually  sleepy ;  the  little  wads  of 
discomfort  over  in  the  corner,  which  she  called  a 
bed,  looked  most  inviting  to  her,  yet  the  memory 
of  her  emphatic  "I'll  do  it,"  held  her  before  the 
box  and  book.  "When  I  promises  I  promises," 
she  said,  stoically,  and  opened  the  Bible. 

She  might  have  been  awed  had  she  known  with 
what  painstaking,  prayerful  care  Mrs.  Holmes  had 
selected  the  marked  verse.      In   truth,  that   lady 
240 


SHE    RECEIVES,    TO    ACTIVE    MEMBERSHIP.      24! 

had  been  long  in  doubt  which  pearl  out  of  the 
wondrous  treasure-box  to  choose.  The  familiar 
one  so  often  used  occurred  to  her:  "God  so 
loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  But  she  shook 
her  head  over  it ;  it  was  too  high,  too  wonderful, 
for  Happy.  She  did  not  understand  that  she  was 
in  any  danger;  she  felt  no  need  of  an  infinite 
Savior.  In  like  manner,  the  tender  calls  of  the 
compassionate  One  to  the  "weary"  and  "heavy 
laden,"  did  not  seem  to  fit  the  present  moment. 
Happy  might  be  "heavy  laden,"  but  she  did  not 
know  it,  in  the  sense  which  the  call  meant.  Her 
choice  at  last  was  one  which  bewildered  herself; 
when  she  came  to  think  it  over  afterward  it 
seemed  not  suited  to  Happy,  yet  the  persistent 
way  in  which  her  thoughts  went  back  to  it  while 
she  was  searching,  and  the  persistent  impression 
that  here  was  the  verse  to  be  marked,  was  not 
to  be  resisted  :  "  He  that  overcometh,  the  same 
shall  be  clothed  in  white  raiment ;  and  I  will  not 
blot  out  his  name  out  of  the  book  of  life,  but  will 
confess  his  name  before  my  Father  and  before 
his  angels." 

What  did  Happy  know  about  overcoming  ? 
She  did  not  even  want  to  know !  Nevertheless, 
this  searcher  after  lost  sheep  made  her  heavy  red 
lines  about  the  words,  and  wondered  why  it  was 


242  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

that  she  must  choose  thus.  The  "Chief  Shep 
herd  "  knew.  If  Happy  did  not  understand  the 
word  "overcome,"  there  were  certain  other  words 
as  she  slowly  read  them  which  caught  and  held 
her  thoughts.  Certain  experiences  of  that  very 
day  had  prepared  her  to  be  thus  held. 

She  had  met  that  afternoon,  on  her  way  to  the 
grocery  for  molasses,  Mr.  Arson  and  "that  Hurst 
girl  "  walking  together  ;  walking  slowly,  absorbed 
apparently  in  conversation ;  at  least,  Mr.  Arson 
had  been  so  absorbed  that  he  came  almost  upon 
Happy,  staring  and  blushing,  before  he  saw  her  at 
all ;  then  he  actually  frowned,  and  made  not  the 
slightest  attempt  at  recognition. 

"  He  doesn't  want  to  own  that  he  even  knows 
me,"  said  Happy  to  herself  with  a  heart  swelling 
with  indignation  ;  then  she  looked  after  the  two, 
eagerly,  longingly ;  stopping  on  the  street  corner 
regardless  of  observation,  to  do  so.  What  a 
thing  it  must  be  to  have  a  whole  afternoon  when 
one  could  dress  up  and  walk  the  streets,  and  be 
talked  to  by  the  man  who  was  bending  his  head 
toward  Madeline  Hurst !  And  Madeline  was 
clothed  in  a  dress  of  spotless  white,  without  so 
much  as  a  touch  of  color  about  her.  Madeline 
knew  that  the  dress  was  coarse  and  plain,  and 
that  she  was  outgrowing  it,  but  Happy  did  not ; 
to  her  eyes  the  girl  was  dressed  like  an  angel. 
Do  you  get  a  conception  of  what  the  unfamiliar 


SHE    RECEIVES,    TO    ACTIVE    MEMBERSHIP.      243 

Bible  words  may  have  said  to  the  poor  dark 
heart  ? 

"He  that  overcometh,  the  same  shall  be  clothed 
in  white  raiment."  Somewhere  Happy  had  heard 
that  word  "raiment,"  in  connection  with  her 
novel-reading,  and  understood  its  meaning;  she 
caught  her  breath  over  the  sentence,  and  read  it 
again.  Here  was  a  chance  for  somebody ;  these 
words  were  in  the  Bible,  and  she  had  a  vague 
feeling  that  what  was  in  that  book  was  somehow 
true.  The  way  to  secure  the  "white  raiment" 
was  as  Sanscrit  to  her,  but  it  was  something  to 
feel  that  there  was  a  way,  and  that  Mis'  Holmes 
could  tell  her  how  to  find  it.  "And  I  will  not 
blot  out  his  name  out  of  the  book  of  life."  What 
did  it  mean  ?  She  did  not  know.  Only  it  was 
nice  not  to  have  your  name  blotted  out,  of  course. 
She  liked  her  name  on  the  fly-leaf  of  this  book. 
She  would  like  to  see  anybody  dare  to  blot  it  out ! 
But  over  the  next  sentence  she  fairly  held  her 
breath:  "I  will  confess  his  name  before  my 
Father  and  before  his  angels." 

"He  darst  to  own  that  he  knew  me,"  she  mur 
mured;  "and  before  angels  and  all!  That  Hurst 
girl  wouldn't  be  much  by  the  side  of  a  lot  of 
angels,  I  guess.  Oh,  dear  me,  I  wisht  I  knew ! " 

She  leaned  her  elbows  on  the  dry-goods  box 
and  bent  herself  forward  over  the  book,  reading 
the  startling  words  again,  slowly,  carefully,  to 


244  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

make  sure  that  they  were  really  all  there  then ; 
lifted  her  eyes  to  the  dingy  wall  before  her  and 
said  again,  "I  wisht  I  knew!"  but  this  time  she 
added,  after  a  moment's  thought,  "And  I  mean 
to;  so  there! " 

What  she  wished  she  knew  was  what  it  meant 
to  "overcome."  "To  the  weak  became  I  as 
weak,  that  I  might  gain  the  weak,"  said  the  great 
apostle  hundreds  of  years  before.  Was  he  in 
this,  as  in  other  things,  but  faintly  copying  his 
infinite  Master,  who  was  at  that  moment  bending 
to  the  weakness  and  almost  ridiculousness  of  poor 
Happy's  conceptions,  which  were  "of  the  earth, 
earthy"?  "That  I  might  by  all  means  save 
some,"  said  Paul.  And  it  may  be  he  understood 
some  of  the  "means"  he  was  directed  to  use  as 
little  as  did  Mrs.  Holmes,  who  sat  in  her  room  at 
that  moment  deploring  her  folly  in  having  chosen 
a  verse  infinitely  beyond  Happy's  understanding. 

"Look  here,  Mis'  Holmes,"  said  Happy,  next 
morning,  waylaying  the  lady  as  usual  on  her 
transit  from  the  breakfast  table;  "I  read  the 
verse  over  three  times ;  what  does  it  mean  ? " 
There  was  no  giggling  now;  instead,  there  was 
intense  earnestness,  and  a  certain  reserve  force  of 
determination  behind  the  words,  which  impressed 
the  listener. 

"Which  part  of  it,  Happy?"  she  asked,  to  give 
herself  time  to  plan  how  to  answer. 


SHE    RECEIVES,   TO    ACTIVE    MEMBERSHIP.      245 

"The  very  first  of  it:  'He  that  overcometh ' ; 
them's  the  words.  How  do  you  do  it,  and  what 
is  it,  any  way  ?  " 

Here  was  a  question,  truly !  Mrs.  Holmes, 
half-way  up  the  stairs,  was  expected  to  pause  and 
answer  that  over  which  theologians  had  been 
studying  and  writing  tomes  for  centuries !  She 
sat  down  on  a  stair,  the  better  to  do  it. 

"  Happy,  it  means  those  who  take  Jesus  for 
their  pattern,  and  try  every  day  to  do  the  things 
which  he  likes,  and  to  keep  from  doing  things 
which  grieve  and  disappoint  him  ;  all  such  over 
come  the  temptations  which  Satan  sets  for  them, 
and  show  by  their  lives  that  they  are  following 
Jesus.  Then,  when  the  time  comes,  he  takes 
them  to  his  home,  and  introduces  them  to  his 
Father  and  the  angels  as  his  friends." 

"Oh,  my !  "  said  Happy,  but  her  face  was  grave. 
"  Folks  don't  do  it,  though,  Mis'  Holmes,  none 
of  "em." 

"Don't  do  what?" 

"Right;  always,  without  ever  making  mistakes, 
and  forgetting,  and  all  that.  Leastways,  I  never 
saw  'em  if  they  did." 

"  But  they  try,  Happy.  If  you  had  a  little  sis 
ter  who  wanted  to  please  you  so  much  that  she 
tried  every  day  to  do  just  as  you  did,  wouldn't  you 
love  her,  even  though  she  didn't  get  any  thing  she 
did,  quite  right?" 


246  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"Yes'm,  I  should  that!"  said  Happy,  with 
energy. 

"And  don't  you  think  if  she  kept  on  trying 
every  day,  she  would  certainly  after  a  time  be  able 
to  do  a  great  many  things  right ;  even  the  things 
she  had  failed  on  at  first  ? ' 

"Course,"  said  Happy,  confidently. 

"Then,  that  is,  as  nearly  as  I  can  explain  to 
you  now,  what  Jesus  means  by  'overcoming.'  It 
is  in  the  first  place  a  fixed  resolve  to  follow  his 
directions- — not  to  follow  them  to-day  and  neglect 
them  to-morrow ;  not  to  do  as  He  pleases  one 
hour  and  as  you  please  the  next  hour ;  not  to  say, 
'Maybe  I  will  do  it,  sometime.'  You  could  not 
think  that  your  little  sister  was  honest  in  her 
desire  to  please  you  if  she  managed  in  that  way ; 
neither  can  He.  It  is,  as  I  said,  a  fixed  determ 
ination  to  follow  his  directions,  always,  every 
where,  no  matter  what  they  lead  to.  That  is  the 
first  step." 

Happy  stood  considering.  Mrs.  Holmes  had 
never  seen  her  face  grave  for  so  long  a  time 
before,  when  it  was  not  in  a  frown.  She  watched 
the  girl  with  a  kind  of  tremor  in  her  heart,  lest 
she  should  not  have  said  the  right  words  to  her  in 
this  which  was  evidently  a  crucial  moment.  She 
was  hardly  prepared  for  the  next  question. 

"Well,  what's  the  next  one?" 

"The  next  what,  Happy?" 


SHE    RECEIVES,    TO    ACTIVE    MEMBERSHIP.      247 

"Step.     You  said  that  was  first;  what's  next?" 

Mrs.  Holmes'  face  lighted  with  a  reflection  of 
the  thrill  of  gladness  in  her  heart :  this  looked 
like  decision. 

"To  tell  Him  about  it,  and  claim  his  help." 

Now  poor  Happy  giggled ;  not  as  though  she 
were  amused,  but  embarrassed,  almost  distressed  : 

"Oh,  land!  Mis'  Holmes,  I  can't.  I  s'pose  you 
mean  prayin' ;  now  I  couldn't !  " 

"Happy,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  earnestly,  "it  is 
just  as  simple  a  thing  as  it  is  for  you  to  stand  here 
talking  to  me ;  more  simple,  because  He  can 
understand  what  you  mean,  even  though  you  do 
not  know  quite  how  to  express  it.  There  are  no 
large  words  necessary,  nor  sentences  such  as  you 
may  have  heard  used  in  prayer,  and  did  not  under 
stand.  It  is  simply  saying :  '  Lord  Jesus,  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  that  I  want  to  overcome. 
Show  me  how  to  do  it." 

Mrs.  Stetson's  voice  sooner  or  later  always  sum 
moned  Happy.  It  called  her  now  in  peremptory 
tones,  and  the  girl  went  away  swiftly,  without 
another  word.  As  for  Mrs.  Holmes,  her  face, 
though  glad,  had  a  strange  solemnity  upon  it  as 
she  went  about  her  morning  work.  Had  she  been 
given  a  glimpse  into  the  "Holy  of  Holies," 
wherein  the  Savior  of  souls  came  down  to  the 
level  of  this  feeble  little  soul  and  called  it? 
Could  she  have  looked  in  upon  the  girl  that  even- 


248  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

ing,  she  would  have  been  sure  of  it.  Happy  was 
near  the  dry-goods  box,  and  the  open  Bible  had  a 
faint  streak  of  soil  upon  it  near  the  red-lined 
verse.  But  the  smoky  lamp  had  been  suddenly 
quenched  ;  Happy  could  not  have  told  why,  only 
she  seemed  not  to  want  it.  The  light  of  the  full 
moon  flooded  the  desolate  little  room  and  touched 
even  its  few  worn-out  belongings  with  a  kind  of 
beauty.  And  angels,  listening,  heard  spoken,  in 
low,  awe-stricken,  yet  steady  tones,  these  words  : 

"Jesus,  I've  made  up  my  mind.  I  want  to 
'overcome'  and  be  owned  before  the  angels,  as 
you  said.  I  don't  know  how,  but  she  said  you'd 
show  me,  and  I  mean  to  do  it.  When  I  promises, 
I  promises." 

And  the  angels  knew  that,  from  that  wonderful 
moment,  although  the  way  might  be  long  and 
tortuous,  and  the  mistakes  so  many  as  to  almost 
discourage  poor  human  patience,  yet,  neverthe 
less,  the  day  would  come  when  this  poor  little 
earth-worm,  kneeling  in  her  attic,  would  be  pre 
sented  by  the  King  to  his  Father  and  the  holy 
angels,  with  exceeding  joy;  and  that  she  would 
be  "without  spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing." 

"I  am  going  to  call  on  Madeline  Hurst,"  said 
Mrs.  Holmes  to  her  husband,  appearing  before 
him  dressed  for  a  walk,  after  she  had  made  all 
things  comfortable  for  his  afternoon  rest ;  "I  do 
not  know  what  to  say  to  her,  anrl  am  half-fright* 


SHE    RECEIVES,    TO    ACTIVE    MEMBERSHIP.      249 

ened  at  the  thought  of  saying  any  thing;  yet  I 
seem  unable  to  let  the  matter  rest.  How  are 
people  to  be  saved  from  themselves,  Stuart  ?  " 

"By  the  expulsive  power  of  a  new  affection," 
he  said,  smiling  almost  wistfully  upon  her. 

Occasionally  this  man,  who  had  been  taught 
some  lessons  in  the  school  of  affliction,  wondered 
almost  timidly  how  his  wife  would  be  taught  to 
trust  the  part  which  was  not  for  her  to  manage. 

A  frowzy-headed,  most  slatternly-looking  girl 
answered  Mrs.  Holmes'  ring,  and  announced  that 
"Mis'  Hurst"  was  out,  and  "Mad"  was  up  stairs 
sick. 

"Sick!"  repeated  the  caller,  anxiously.  Made 
line  seemed  like  one  ,who  needed  but  a  slight 
illness  to  prostrate  her.  The  girl,  on  being  ques 
tioned,  "guessed  she  wasn't  much  sick;  she 
coughed  some,  but  she  mostly  did  when  she  took 
cold,  and  she  took  cold  about  every  time  she 
stirred.  She  hadn't  seen  her  to-day,  but  Mis' 
Hurst  told  them  that  she  could  have  come  down 
to  dinner  if  she  had  wanted  to." 

Over  the  anxiously-put  question  whether  the 
caller  could  be  allowed  to  go  up  and  see  her,  the 
girl  frowned  and  puzzled.  She  "  didn't  know,  she 
was  sure;  Mis'  Hurst  was  away,  and  folks  that 
come  a-calling  didn't  commonly  go  up  stairs.  She 
hain't  got  her  room  fixed  up  for  callers,"  the  girl 
added,  with  a  half-embarrassed  giggle. 


25O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"You  may  ask  her  if  she  will  see  me,"  said 
Mrs.  Holmes,  with  decision;  "tell  her  I  would 
like  very  much  to  spend  a  little  while  with  her  if 
she  is  able.  Take  this  card  to  her,  please." 

Poor  Madeline's  cheeks  were  burning  with 
fever,  and  her  head  ached  so  she  could  hardly 
read  the  card  which  was  thrust  into  her  hand.  It 
is  humiliating  to  have  to  confess  it,  but  I  am 
afraid  the  feeling  uppermost  in  her  heart  was  that 
if  she  permitted  her  caller  to  come  to  the  attic- 
room,  it  would  be  the  surest  way  of  mortifying 
her  sister-in-law.  She  gave  one  swift  glance 
about  the  low,  dreary  room,  with  its  one  curtain- 
less  window,  save  for  a  newspaper  pinned  against 
it,  with  its  uncomfortable  cot  in  place  of  a  bed, 
and  its  utter  absence  of  the  usual  furnishings  of  a 
young  woman's  room,  and,  with  a  smile  which 
would  have  grieved  and  frightened  Mrs.  Holmes, 
said: 

"Yes,  let  her  come  up.  She  will  understand 
some  things  better  than  she  does  now,  after  she 
has  spent  five  minutes  in  this  room." 

It  was  perhaps  an  hour  afterward  that  Mrs. 
Holmes,  on  her  way  through  the  lower  hall,  came 
upon  the  lady  of  the  house,  who  had  just  entered 
the  front  door. 

"Mrs.  Hurst,  I  believe?"  she  said,  in  answer 
to  that  woman's  stare  of  astonishment.  "I  am 
Mrs.  Holmes.  I  think,  madam,  you  cannot  know 


SHE    RECEIVES,    TO    ACTIVE    MEMBERSHIP.      251 

that  your  sister  is  quite  ill.  I  have  been  with 
her  for  the  last  hour,  and  she  grows  steadily 
worse.  Her  breathing  is  becoming  very  labored, 
and  I  fear  that,  unless  promptly  relieved,  she  will 
have  congestion." 

"The  idea!"  said  Mrs.  Hurst.  It  seemed  a 
strange  reply  to  make  to  such  information,  but 
the  fact  is,  the  only  portion  of  it  which  the  bewil 
dered  and  dismayed  woman  had  realized  was  that 
Mrs.  Holmes,  the  elegant  stranger  whom  she  had 
watched  at  a  distance  with  envious  eyes,  had 
actually  been  to  her  attic  spying  out  its  bare 
ness  !  Her  face  flushed  angrily  at  the  thought ; 
she  knew  only  too  well  how  the  attic  looked. 
What  unparalleled  impudence  it  was  in  this  upstart 
woman  to  force  herself  into  other  people's  houses ! 

"  If  I  can  do  any  thing,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes, 
hesitating ;  "  I  came  down  to  see  if  I  could  find 
you,  or  somebody  else,  and  speak  about  a  physi 
cian.  I  shall  pass  Dr.  Portland's  office  on  my 
way  home ;  if  he  is  your  physician,  I  could  leave 
a  message." 

Then  Mrs.  Hurst  rallied  to  the  emergency. 

"You  are  very  kind,"  she  said  in  a  tone  which 
was  intended  to  be  dignified,  "but  there  is 
no  occasion  to  trouble  you.  My  sister-in-law  is 
accustomed  to  these  attacks,  and  I  know  what  to 
do  for  her.  She  is  inclined  to  make  a  great  deal 
of  a  little  sickness,  and  has  frightened  you,  I  sup- 


252  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

pose.  I  know  how  to  deal  with  her.  There  is 
nothing  to  be  alarmed  about." 

But  now  Mrs.  Holmes'  cheeks  were  red  also, 
and  her  eyes  very  bright. 

"Indeed,  madam,"  she  said  earnestly;  "pardon 
me  for  saying  I  feel  very  sure  that  you  are 
mistaken.  I  am  accustomed  to  illness,  having 
recently  nursed  my  husband  through  a  long, 
severe  attack,  which  was  not  unlike  this  in  its 
beginning,  and  was  allowed  to  get  too  firm  a  hold 
before  we  understood  it,  or  realized  the  danger. 
I  am  confident  that  when  you  see  her  you  will 
decide  that  a  skilled  physician  should  be  sum 
moned  at  once." 

"Oh,  very  well,"  said  Mrs.  Hurst,  loftily;  "if 
Mad  is  frightened,  she  can  have  a  doctor,  of 
course ;  but  we  by  no  means  wish  to  see  Dr.  Port 
land  ;  we  would  not  employ  him  to  doctor  a  cat ! " 

There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  go  away  filled 
with  anxiety  over  one  who  seemed  so  friendless. 
The  disturbed  caller  felt  that  she  would  almost 
rather  have  left  the  girl  alone  than  trust  her  to 
the  tender  mercies  of  such  a  woman.  Madeline 
was  right  in  one  respect;  Mrs.  Holmes  under 
stood  better  now  the  sort  of  life  the  poor  child 
must  lead. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

SHE    TURNS    SURGEON. 

WELL  of  all  things  in  this  world !  "  was  Mrs. 
Hurst's  exclamation  as  the  door  closed 
after  her  visitor ;  "if  I  ever  in  my  life  saw  any 
impudence  equal  to  that !  I  wonder  how  that 
hussy  came  to  show  her  the  way  up  stairs  !  She 
ought  to  be  discharged  this  minute  to  pay  for  it. 
'Dr.  Portland,'  indeed  !  I  think  I  see  her  sending 
him  here!  That  is  just  like  Mad;  anything  to 
create  a  sensation ;  but  it  is  too  outrageous  to 
think  she  let  her  come  up  stairs !  I  believe  she 
did  it  just  to  spite  me  ! " 

Before  that  evening  was  over,  both  Madeline 
and  Nancy  wished  they  had  not  been  so  rash. 
Though  truth  to  tell,  poor  Nancy,  out  of  whose 
hands  the  matter  was  taken  altogether,  could  not 
understand  why  she  should  be  blamed ;  but 
blamed  she  was  most  roundly.  The  entire  Hurst 
family  heard  nothing  else  but  the  story  of  Mrs. 
Holmes'  insufferable  insolence,  and  Mad's  mean- 
253 


254  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

ness  and  Nancy's  stupidity  in  aiding  and  abetting 
it.  Under  the  influence  of  the  general  disorder, 
Mr.  Hurst  made  a  remark  which  placed  him  under 
the  ban  of  disapproval  also. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "I  don't  see  why  you  can't 
keep  things  decent,  so  you  needn't  be  afraid  to 
have  folks  go  up  stairs  when  it  is  necessary  ;  there 
are  fancy  gimcracks  enough  in  the  parlor  to  make 
Mad's  room  decently  comfortable,  if  the  money 
spent  on  them  had  been  put  there." 

You  will  be  ready  to  admit  that  this  was  hard 
upon  Mrs.  Hurst,  for  the  "gimcracks"  in  the  par 
lor  were  her  idol's. 

It  was  two  days  before  Mrs.  Holmes  saw  Made 
line  again ;  she  called  on  the  day  following  her 
first  visit  —  was  assured  that  "Mad"  was  better, 
needed  nothing,  and  could  not  be  seen  ;  on  the 
second  day,  having  knocked  gently  at  the  open 
front  door  and  been  unanswered,  she  waited  a 
minute,  then  ran  lightly  up  stairs  and  tapped  at 
Madeline's  door.  She  was  even  more  shocked  at 
the  girl's  appearance  than  on  her  first  visit,  and 
could  not  help  feeling  that  this  sickness  was  seri 
ous.  Madeline  was  alone,  and  evidently  glad  to 
see  her  caller,  though  she  expressed  surprise  at 
her  coming. 

"  How  did  you  get  permission  to  come  up  here 
again  ?" 

"  I    took    it,"   answered    Mrs.    Holmes,   with    a 


SHE    TURNS    SURGEON.  255 

quiet  smile;  "the  door  stood  invitingly  open  and 
my  knock  was  unanswered ;  so,  as  I  knew  the 
way,  I  took  the  liberty  of  coming  up." 

"Good!"  said  Madeline,  her  eyes  glowing  with 
a  strange  luster  which  was  not  pleasant  to  see; 
"come  up  in  the  same  way  whenever  you  can  ;  it 
is  the  only  way  you  will  ever  get  here,  and  it 
annoys  Mrs.  Hurst  so  much  that  it  does  me 
good." 

"  My  dear  girl,  do  not  say  such  words,  even  in 
jest;  I  am  sure  you  do  not  mean  them." 

"Don't  I!"  said  Madeline.  And  then  Mrs. 
Holmes  made  haste  to  change  the  subject. 

"Are  you  really  better?"  she  asked;  "do  you 
cough  as  much  as  you  did  ?  What  physician 
attends  you  ? " 

"Madam  Hurst." 

"My  dear,  have  you  not  seen  a  physician  ?" 

"Only  the  one  I  have  mentioned;  she  prides 
herself  upon  her  skill.  Doesn't  she  impress  you 
as  a  woman  whom  I  ought  to  enjoy  having  nurse 
me  ?" 

"  I  think  that  is  wrong,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes, 
gravely ;  "  I  am  sure  you  ought  to  have  a 
doctor." 

"Never  mind  a  doctor,"  Madeline  said,  leaning 
wearily  back  among  the  pillows,  after  a  violent 
spasm  of  coughing ;  "  I  do  not  think  I  care  to  see 
one ;  not  of  her  kind,  and  I  can  compass  no  other. 


256  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

I  am  glad  you  have  braved  the  consequences  and 
come  to  see  me ;  you  do  not  know  how  disagree 
able  they  are,  but,  all  the  same,  I  am  glad  you 
have  come.  Perhaps  I  became  sick  in  order  to 
give  me  a  chance  to  think ;  I  need  to  do  some 
thinking,  Mrs.  Holmes,  and  I  have  almost  made 
up  my  mind  to  ask  you  to  help  me  decide 
something." 

"If  I  can  help  you  in  any  way,  I  shall  be  glad; 
but  will  you  tell  me  what  you  mean  by  'braving 
the  consequences '  ?  Does  it  make  it  harder  for 
you  to  have  me  come  here? " 

"Nevermind,"  said  Madeline;  "she  is  jealous 
of  you  because  you  have  had  the  kindness  to 
notice  me,  and  have  not  noticed  her ;  she  would 
be  jealous  of  a  kitten  if  it  purred  for  me;  so  it 
is  nothing  against  you  personally,  you  see ;  never 
mind  her,  Mrs.  Holmes;  I  want  to  talk  to  you, 
to  ask  you  something.  I  have  spoken  very  plainly 
to  you,  more  plainly,  perhaps,  than  I  ought,  for 
my  self-respect ;  I  ought  to  shield  my  family,  of 
course;  I  know  enough  about  common  politeness 
for  that;  but  I  had  an  object  in  speaking,  and  in 
letting  you  see  something  of  my  life.  It  is  quite 
intolerable  to  me,  Mrs.  Holmes ;  really  and  truly 
I  can  endure  it  no  longer !  I  know  a  way  out ; 
but  the  way  is  almost  as  disagreeable  as  the  life 
I  now  live ;  in  some  respects,  indeed,  it  is  more 
so,  but  in  others  it  would  be  a  manifest  improve- 


SHE    TURNS    SURGEON. 

ment.      Can   you   give   advice   under   such    vague 
conditions  as  that?" 

"  I  might,  my  friend ;  that  is,  if  I  may  be 
allowed  to  ask  a  very  few  questions  and  receive 
frank  answers." 

"Oh,  questions!"  said  the  sick  girl,  nestling 
uneasily  on  her  cot ;  "  I  am  afraid  of  those ; 
especially  when  you  ask  them.  Still,  of  course,  I 
ought  to  answer,  when  I  have  asked  advice." 

"The  first  one  is  very  simple  and  easily 
answered:  'Would  it  be  right  to  take  the  step 
which  you  say  would  in  some  respects  improve 
your  condition  ? ' ' 

"This  is  the  very  worst  question  to  answer," 
Madeline  said,  and,  flushed  with  fever  as  her  face 
was,  Mrs.  Holmes  could  see  that  the  glow 
deepened.  "The  truth  is,"  she  added,  after  a 
moment's  silence,  "it  is  a  phase  of  the  subject 
which  I  do  not  want  to  consider  at  all.  I  want  to 
look  at  it  from  the  standpoint  of  expediency 
alone." 

"Then,"  said  the  lady,  with  quiet  firmness,  "I 
can  not  answer  you.  I  aim  to  order  all  my  acts 
in  life  with  that  question  in  view,  as  the  leading 
consideration." 

"That  would  be  inconvenient,  I  should  think," 
the  girl  said,  laconically. 

After  a  few  moments  of  silence  she  began 
again,  still  in  that  restless,  half  irritable  tone : 


258  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"You  can  theorize,  I  suppose.  What  if  a 
home  and  friendship  and  protection,  were  offered 
to  a  lonely,  desolate  girl  and  she  felt  reasonably 
sure  that  she  could  do  her  duty  by  the  one  who 
offered  it,  is  there  any  good  reason  why  she 
should  not  accept  such  an  escape  from  misery, 
even  though  she  —  she"-  — and  then  poor  Made 
line  stopped,  her  face  aflame. 

Mrs.  Holmes  felt  that  she  was  sitting  on  the 
edge  of  a  precipice ;  or,  what  was  worse,  watch 
ing  the  feet  of  another  who  was  very  near  the 
edge,  and  whom  a  single  false  movement  upon 
her  part  might  precipitate  over  the  brink.  She 
tried  to  keep  face  and  voice  in  utmost  quiet,  while 
she  questioned,  "  Are  you  speaking  of  marriage, 
Madeline?"  It  was  evidently  a  more  direct  reply 
than  the  girl  expected,  and  she  hesitated  before 
she  said  : 

"Suppose  I  were,  what  answer  would  you 
make?" 

"There  can  be  but  one  answer.  If  there  are 
no  obstacles  such  as  self-respecting  people  con 
sider,  to  prevent  a  marriage,  then  the  all-import 
ant  question  which  each  soul  must  answer  to 
itself  before  God  is,  '  Can  I  honestly  take  with 
this  person  the  vows  which  God  and  the  laws  of 
the  land  make  necessary  to  a  legal  marriage?" 
In  other  words,  'Do  I  love  him  with  the  sort  of 
love  which  I  give  to  no  other,  so  that  he  is 


SHE    TURNS    SURGEON.  259 

the  one  man  on  earth  to  whom  I  could  so  bind 
myself  ? '  Any  other  marriage  than  that,  Made 
line,  is  perjury  in  God's  sight." 

Madeline  turned  her  small,  hot  pillow  angrily. 

"  How  many  people  do  you  suppose  marry  in 
that  way  ? "  she  asked,  almost  with  a  sneer. 

"I  do  not  know,  my  dear  girl;  nor  do  I  see 
what  the  question  has  to  do  with  the  subject. 
As  well  ask  me  how  many  false  people  there  are 
in  the  world,  in  order  to  prove  that  there  can  not, 
and  need  not,  be  such  a  thing  as  truth.  Entirely 
aside  from  the  Christian  standpoint,  I  do  not  see 
how  there  can  be  moral  decency  in  any  other  mar 
riage  than  the  one  I  have  described." 

"But,  Mrs.  Holmes,  a  good,  true  man,  who 
loved  and  respected  a  woman  might  give  her  the 
protection  of  his  name,  and  care  for  her  all  his 
life,  it  seems  to  me,  even  though  she  could  give 
him  in  return  only  friendship." 

Madeline's  tones  had  changed  ;  the  fierceness 
had  died  out  of  them,  and  they  had  almost  a 
pleading  sound  which  went  to  Mrs.  Holmes' 
heart.  But  she  resolutely  shook  her  head. 

"It  will  not  do,  dear.  No  good  man  could 
respect  a  woman  who  would  consent  to  take  vows 
upon  her  lips  which  her  heart  did  not  echo.  I 
can  not  conceive  of  the  possibility  of  a  good  man 
wanting  a  wife  who  did  not  love  him.  God  has 
so  ordered  it  that  marriage  shall  be  a  faint,  but, 


26O  HER   ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

so  far  as  it  goes,  honest,  type  of  the  union 
between  the  soul  and  Christ.  It  is  dishonoring 
to  Jesus  Christ  to  belittle  the  type,  and  make  any 
of  its  terms  other  than  strictly  true." 

"I  do  not  know  anything  about  such  high-toned 
reasoning,  you  must  remember,"  said  poor  Made 
line,  coldly ;  and  Mrs.  Holmes,  reflecting,  won 
dered  whether  she  would  do  better  to  drop  to  an 
illustration  which  was  of  the  very  dregs.  "Did 
you  ever  hear  Mrs.  Carpenter  talk  about  how  she 
married  for  a  home  and  for  protection  ? "  she  ven 
tured  to  ask.  But  Madeline's  swiftly  changing 
face  grew  dark,  and  her  eyes  flashed  angrily.  "  I 
am  talking  about  a  very  different  person  from  Joe 
Carpenter,"  she  said,  in  intense  scorn. 

"That  is,  he  seems  very  different  to  you  now; 
but,  Madeline,  if  he  is  one  worthy  to  be  loved  and 
respected,  believe  me  he  would  accept  nothing 
less  than  love  from  the  woman  of  his  choice ;  and 
what  men  who  are  not  worthy,  will  become,  only 
the  God  whom  they  insult  can  know.  From  a 
merely  selfish  standpoint,  even,  it  is  not  safe  to 
trust  them." 

Then  she  had  the  benefit  again  of  a  pair  of 
flashing  eyes. 

"  I  thought  Christians  were  expected  to  be  char 
itable !"  the  girl  said,  fairly  biting  off  the  words. 
"Do  you  call  that  charity,  Mrs.  Holmes,  to  see  no 
good  in  anybody  who  is  not  governed  by  the  nar- 


SHE    TURNS    SURGEON.  26l 

row  rules  which  hedge  a  few  people  in  ?  I  should 
call  it  narrow-minded  and  shallow." 

And  then  Mrs.  Holmes  knew  that  the  poor 
child  was  quoting  from  some  one  who  was  trying 
to  be  her  leader,  and  who  had  already  warped  her 
judgment  by  a  few  high-sounding  phrases  about 
"larger  liberty"  and  "wider  outlooks."  She  was 
talking  very  much  in  the  dark,  yet  grew  every 
moment  more  certain  that  Madeline  Hurst  was 
considering  herself  and  Mr.  Arson ;  that  she  did 
not  love  him,  but  imagined  she  respected  him,  and 
had  been  made  to  believe  that  his  love  for  her  was 
so  great  he  was  willing  to  give  all,  and  receive 
only  this  cold  return.  If  only  the  girl  would  con 
fide  in  her  fully,  so  that  she  might  speak  plainly! 
She  had  not  been  hurt  by  the  last  rude  outburst ; 
it  was  so  manifestly  the  utterance,  in  borrowed 
words,  of  a  tortured  mind  which  did  not  fully 
know  what  it  was  saying.  Her  voice  was  never 
more  gentle  than  when  she  ventured  to  break  the 
ominous  silence  : 

"  Madeline,  I  am  talking  blindly,  of  course ;  I 
do  not  know  why  you  asked  the  question  you  did, 
but  you  asked,  you  know,  and  I  have  tried  to 
answer.  I  can  not  expect  you  to  confide  in  me, 
for  I  have  known  you  too  recently  to  win  your 
confidence ;  but  I  love  you,  dear  child,  and  my 
heart  goes  out  in  a  great  longing  to  help  you.  I 
can  not  help  knowing  from  observation,  as  well 


262  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

as  from  the  few  hints  you  have  given  me,  that 
your  life  just  now  is  a  hard  one,  and  I  can  readily 
imagine  that  you  are  sorely  tempted  to  take  some 
rash  step,  which  you  may  spend  what  will  seem 
like  an  eternity  in  regretting.  Let  me  beg  of  you 
to  wait  and  think  and  pray,  before  you  do  any 
thing  which  your  enlightened  conscience  disap 
proves.  Remember  that  you  have  been  too  well 
trained  in  the  years  gone  by,  to  really  approve  a 
lie,  no  matter  how  glossed  over  it  may  be  by 
smooth-sounding  words.  I  beg  your  pardon  for 
giving  the  matter  a  personal  turn,  which  perhaps 
your  words  did  not  justify.  I  think  I  am  feeling 
more  keenly  than  usual,  just  now,  in  these  direc 
tions.  I  am  looking  on  with  fear  and  trembling 
over  the  possible  wreck  of  a  life  very  differently 
situated  from  yours,  but  fully  as  lonely  and  friend 
less.  Do  you  know  that  poor  little  Happy  Smith- 
ers  who  works  at  Mrs.  Stetson's  ?  " 

"I  have  seen  her,"  said  Madeline,  turning  her 
pillow  again,  and  becoming  every  moment  more 
conscious  that  her  head  ached  violently. 

She  was  already  ashamed  of  her  angry  outburst 
of  a  few  moments  before,  and  was  beginning  to 
wish  that  she  had  asked  no  questions,  but  kept 
her  tormenting  thoughts  to  herself.  It  was  very 
hard  to  try  to  appear  interested  in  Happy  Smith- 
ers.  She  did  not  think  she  cared  what  became  of 
her. 


SHE    TURNS    SURGEON.  263 

''Arid  do  you  know  any  thing  of  a  boarder  at 
Mrs.  Stetson's  by  the  name  of  Arson  —  a  young 
man  ? " 

Then  Madeline  opened  her  eyes,  and  fixed  them 
full  upon  her  caller.  They  seemed  almost  to  burn 
the  lady  as  she  steadily  returned  the  gaze,  but  all 
that  the  sick  girl  said  was,  "  I  have  seen  him, 
too." 

"I  could  wish  that  poor  Happy  never  had!" 
The  words  were  spoken  with  a  sigh,  partly  for 
Happy,  and  partly  because  it  was  evident  that 
Madeline  did  not  mean  to  confide  in  her. 

"Why?"  A  short,  sharp  word  from  the  cot, 
that  demanded  answer,  and  told  a  great  deal  which 
the  questioner  did  not  mean  to  tell. 

"  Because  that  young  man  is  trying  to  deceive 
her,  and  is  succeeding ;  what  his  motive  may  be, 
those  who  know  him  better  than  I  do  will  have  to 
imagine.  I  know  that  he  shows  her  attentions 
such  as  honorable  men  keep  for  their  nearest  and 
dearest ;  that  he  gives  her  presents  such  as  she 
ought  to  know  enough  not  to  receive ;  but  poor 
Happy  is  quite  ignorant  enough  to  be  duped.  He 
takes  surreptitious  walks  with  her  under  cover  of 
the  darkness,  and  parts  with  her  with  kisses  which 
can  only  mean  disgrace." 

Not  for  a  moment  did  she  take  her  eyes  away 
from  the  burning  ones ;  after  the  first  random 
sentence,  she  had  been  sure  that  she  was  not  mis- 


264  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

taken,  and  had  resolved  to  go  on  to  the  humiliat 
ing  end,  and  give  this  warning  before  it  was  too 
late.  She  had  decided  that  it  was  better  that  the 
girl  had  not  confided  in  her;  she  could  speak  the 
more  plainly. 

"How  do  you  know  that  you  are  not  repeating 
a  set  of  miserable  lies  ?  That  girl  is  a  street  pau 
per,  who  does  not  know  how  to  speak  the  truth,  I 
suppose  ;  she  would  consider  it  a  fine  thing  to  tell 
such  tales  of  a  gentleman." 

Madeline's  voice  did  not  sound  as  though  her 
heart  had  received  a  death-blow,  but  rather  as 
though  her  self-respect  had  been  rudely  handled, 
and  she  was  burning  with  indignation.  The 
steady  eyes  did  not  droop  before  the  piercing 
ones,  and  Mrs.  Holmes  answered  quietly : 

"The  girl  never  mentions  his  name,  so  far  as 
I  know.  I  know  of  the  gifts  from  having  seen 
them  in  his  hands  one  hour,  and  in  hers  the  next, 
being  proudly  shown  as  from  a  friend ;  the  poor 
thing  seems  to  have  sufficient  sense  of  propriety 
to  mention  no  names,  or  else  is  tutored  not  to.  I 
know  of  the  walks,  and  the  partings,  and  indeed 
of  some  of  the  words  exchanged,  from  the  same 
reliable  source.  I  have  trusted  only  my  own  eyes 
and  ears  as  witnesses  to  the  tale  I  tell." 

This  entire  conversation  had  been  frequently 
interrupted  by  distressing  paroxysms  of  coughing; 
and  Mrs.  Holmes,  between  the  moral  doses  which 


SHE    TURNS    SURGEON.  265 

she  had  felt  compelled  to  administer,  had  also 
done  what  she  could  for  the  physical,  but  at 
this  point  the  cough  became  so  distressing,  and 
the  weakness  which  followed  the  paroxysm  so 
extreme,  that  the  looker-on  was  visibly  alarmed. 

"Indeed,  Madeline,"  she  said,  anxiously,  "I 
can  not  think  you  do  right  to  let  this  illness  get 
such  a  hold  upon  you.  If  I  could  see  your 
brother  I  would  certainly  interfere  and  beg  him 
to  secure  a  physician  at  once." 

"Don't!"  said  the  girl,  panting  for  breath, 
and  holding  her  hand  to  her  throbbing  heart.  "I 
do  not  want  a  doctor ;  I  want  the  disease  to  get 
such  hold  that  it  will  not  let  go  —  I  want  to  die! 
If  ever  any  person  had  reason  to  be  utterly  tired 
of  this  false,  hateful  world,  I  have.  In  some 
respects  I  am  in  worse  condition  than  Mrs.  Car 
penter,  because  that  disgusting,  mumbling,  drunk 
ard  husband  of  hers  loves  her  after  his  fashion, 
and  is  true  to  her.  I  hope  I  shall  die,  Mrs. 
Holmes,  and  see  mother  for  a  few  minutes,  any 
way.  It  is  all  there  is  left  to  want." 

While  Mrs.  Holmes  stood  amazed  and  sorrow 
ful  over  these  wild,  foolish  words,  uncertain  what 
response  to  make,  the  door  opened  and  Mrs. 
Hurst  appeared. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

ONE    DISCOVERS    HIS    OPPORTUNITY. 

DR.  PORTLAND,  who  had  been  driving 
briskly  through  the  sand  of  a  country  road, 
reined  in  his  horses  and  regarded  attentively  an 
object  which  sat  on  a  fallen  tree  in  the  sunshine; 
it  had  a  slouched  hat  on  the  top  of  its  head,  and 
limp  hands  in  its  pockets ;  its  entire  attitude  was 
one  of  mild  discouragement  and  apathy. 

"Is  this  you,  Joe,  or  your  ghost?" 

"I  reckon  it's  me,  doctor,"  said  the  object, 
turning  its  watery  blue  eyes  in  his  direction. 

"Are  you  sober?" 

"Ain't  drank  a  drop  since" 

"  Since  the  last  time,"  said  the  doctor,  as  Joe 
stopped  to  fix  a  date.  "  Where  are  you  going,  or 
where  do  you  expect  to  go,  when  you  can  coax 
yourself  to  leave  that  old  pine  stump?" 

"I'm  on  my  way  home,  doctor;  I've  been  out 
to  the  Hall  place  on  an  errand  and  got  so  far 
back." 

266 


ONE    DISCOVERS    HIS    OPPORTUNITY.  267 

"  Well,  jump  in  and  I'll  take  you  back  before 
you  would  have  made  up  your  mind  to  start." 
Whereupon  Joe  moved  with  alacrity;  a  ride 
behind  the  ponies  which  were  at  once  the  envy 
and  admiration  of  all  the  boys  in  town,  was  some 
thing  which  had  never  fallen  to  Joe  Carpenter's 
lot  before. 

"  It  is  too  bad  for  you  to  be  such  a  worthless 
old  fellow  as  you  are,  Joe,"  the  doctor  said,  when 
they  were  started. 

"I  know  it,"  said  Joe,  with  becoming  gravity. 
"I've  thought  it  more  times  than  you  have,  I'm 
dead  sure." 

"That  is  very  possible;  I  do  not  remember 
ever  thinking  much  about  it  until  lately ;  but 
when  a  fellow  like  you  succeeds  in  setting  the 
mind  of  a  good  woman  into  a  ferment  over  him, 
it  seems  to  me  it  is  time  for  him  to  think  for 
himself." 

"I  know  it,  a  better  woman  never  lived; 
honest  as  the  day,  and  hard  working ;  keeps 
everything  clean  and  neat,  with  nothing  to  do  it 
with;  it  is  too  bad!"  Joe's  face  was  gravity 
itself ;  nothing  could  be  plainer  than  that  he  was 
in  deep  earnest. 

Doctor  Portland's  face  was  a  study ;  the  half- 
amused,  half-sarcastic  curl  of  his  lip  gradually 
changed,  as  Joe's  sentences  rolled  out.  Actually 
he  could  not  help  having  a  touch  of  respect  for 


268  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

this  miserable  wreck  of  a  man  ;  who,  low  as  he 
had  sunken,  was  not  yet  low  enough  to  speak 
other  than  with  kindness,  even  with  tenderness, 
of  his  wife.  Had  the  wife  been  unknown  to  Dr. 
Portland,  the  poor  fellow's  words  would  have  pro 
duced  no  such  effect ;  but  he  understood  perfectly 
that  she  never  omitted  an  opportunity  to  set  his 
sins  before  him  in  their  darkest  hue;  that  she  was 
coldly  sarcastic  when  she  was  not  worse ;  and  that 
in  short  the  place  which  Joe  had  most  reason  to 
shun,  was  the  one  he  called  home. 

"  Of  the  two,  I  pity  poor  Joe  the  most,"  the 
doctor  had  said  more  than  once.  Now  he  almost 
felt  that  of  the  two  he  could  respect  Joe  the 
most. 

"I  was  not  speaking  of  your  wife,"  he  replied 
gravely,  "though  I  know  she  has  qualities  which 
you  ought  to  respect ;  my  reference  was  to  quite 
another  woman ;  one  who  takes  the  trouble  to 
think  about  you  a  great  deal." 

"Me!"  said  old  Joe,  and  his  monosyllable, 
some  way,  expressed  not  only  intense  surprise, 
but  pathos. 

"I  dunno  who  it  can  be;  mother  used  to  care 
about  me,  but  she's  been  gone  this  twenty  years 
and  more;  and  there  never  was  anybody  else." 

"  I  mean  a  good,  true  woman  who  is  very  anx 
ious  concerning  you,  and  would  give  much  to  see 
you  a  different  man.  You  must  have  seen  the 


ONE    DISCOVERS    HIS    OPPORTUNITY.  269 

lady  who  is  boarding  at  Stetson's  ?  She  has  been 
here  but  a  few  weeks  and  has  an  invalid  husband." 

"The  little  woman  with  pretty  hair,  and  eyes 
that  make  you  think  of  stars  and  sunshine  ?  Yes, 
I  have  seen  her ;  she  comes  to  our  house  some 
times  ;  and  she  sends  more  than  she  comes ;  Mad 
Hurst  let  me  know  where  the  things  come  from 
that  helped  my  wife  through  her  sick  spell ;  and 
though  you  wouldn't  think  it,  I'm  grateful  to  any 
body  who  does  things  for  my  wife ;  but  you  are 
mistaken  about  her  caring  any  thing  for  me.  She 
ain't  never  spoke  one  word  to  me." 

"  Nevertheless  I  tell  you  she  is  deeply  inter 
ested  in  you.  I  have  heard  her  say  so.  She 
must  see  in  you  something  which  the  rest  of  us 
haven't.  She  thinks  you  could  do  more  for  your 
wife  than  all  of  us  put  together,  if  you  would." 

"You  mean  about  work,  doctor?  Well,  now, 
it's  curious  how  scarce  work  is  in  this  place  —  for 
me,  anyhow;  I've  been  four  miles  into  the  coun 
try  this  afternoon  in  search  of  a  job  I  heard  of, 
but  I  couldn't  get  it.  I  do  work  whenever  I  get 
a  chance,  now  that's  a  fact." 

"  I  don't  mean  any  thing  of  the  kind,  Joe,  and 
you  know  it.  I  mean  whisky.  Haven't  you 
brains  enough  to  know  that  the  reason  work  is 
scarce,  is  because  people  can  not  trust  you  ?  You 
may  go  off  in  the  middle  of  an  important  job  and 
get  on  a  spree  and  not  be  seen  for  days.  Why 


2/O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

should  any  body  in  his  senses  employ  such  a  man 
as  that  ? " 

"  I  know  it,  doctor,"  said  Joe  with  the  grave 
air  of  a  philosopher  contemplating  a  fact  in  Natu 
ral  History;  "I'm  not  complaining,  I'm  merely 
stating  a  fact." 

The  doctor  lost  patience.  "  Look  here,  Joe  Car 
penter,"  he  said  sharply,  "  I  do  not  see  any  sense 
in  your  talking  in  that  way.  It  would  do  very 
well  for  an  idiot,  but  really  you  are  not  one,  yet ; 
why  should  you  ape  the  manners  of  one?  Why 
don't  you  rouse  to  the  situation  and  act  like  a 
reasonable  being?" 

Poor  Joe  did  not  so  much  as  turn  his  weak  eyes 
in  the  speaker's  direction ;  instead,  he  looked 
gravely  at  the  wheel,  from  which  particles  of  sand 
were  steadily  falling,  and  was  silent  for  several 
seconds.  When  at  last  he  spoke  there  was  a  curi 
ous  undertone  of  pathos,  though  his  words  were 
slow  and  quiet  enough. 

"Doctor,  you  wouldn't  think  it,  I  suppose;  I 
wouldn't  have  thought  so  myself  once,  but  the 
stark-naked  living  truth  is,  that  I  can't  do  it ! " 

"Can't  do  what  ?  " 

"Give  up  the  blamed  whisky.  There'd  be  no 
use  in  trying  to  tell  you  how  often  I've  tried ;  why, 
as  many  times  it  seems  to  me  as  there's  grains  of 
sand  in  this  road ;  and  meant  it  every  time,  and 
made  a  dead  failure.  I  didn't  sense  it  at  first ;  I 


ONE    DISCOVERS    HIS    OPPORTUNITY.  2/1 

thought  it  was  accident,  or  mistake,  or  something 
of  that  kind,  and  of  course  I'd  get  hold  of  the 
thing  at  last.  But  I  didn't ;  and  at  last  it  dawned 
upon  me  that  I  couldn't.  Mother,  she  told  me 
once  that  I'd  git  where  I  couldn't,  and  I  didn't 
believe  her." 

A  less  scientific  man  than  Dr.  Portland  would 
have  had  some  glib,  encouraging  answer  to  make ; 
but  he,  looking  at  the  bleared  eyes,  the  enfeebled 
lines  about  the  naturally  weak  mouth,  and  watch 
ing  the  trembling  arms  and  hands,  was  silent. 
An  embarrassing  silence  it  was  to  him,  though 
Joe  did  not  seem  to  feel  it  so ;  he  looked  meekly 
grave  and  contemplative,  still. 

"  You  have  days  when  you  do  not  drink, 
though?"  the  doctor  said  at  last,  putting  the  tone 
of  a  question  into  his  words.  Joe  nodded.  "Yes," 
he  said,  "I  do ;  and  that's  what  fooled  me  along 
at  first.  I  says  to  myself,  says  I,  'Joe,  if  you  can 
stand  it  four  days  at  a  time,  why  can't  you  forty? 
and  after  forty  days  maybe  things  would  get 
different  somehow.'  But  it  wa'nt  of  no  use!" 
shaking  his  head  sadly,  "  I  stuck  it  out  most  two 
weeks,  several  times ;  and  once  nigh  on  to  two 
months ;  but  when  one  of  them  raging  spells  of 
thirst  come  on  me,  it  didn't  make  no  difference 
whether  it  was  weeks  or  months  since  I'd  had  a 
drop ;  I  couldn't  no  more  manage  them  than  I 
could  a  wild  tiger  this  minute !  You  don't  know 


2/2  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

nothing  about  it,  of  course ;  and  my  wife  don't. 
That's  what  tries  her  so,  and  I  don't  wonder; 
but  there  it  is  ! " 

This  was  certainly  a  very  remarkable  turn  for 
the  conversation  to  take.  But  for  his  strange 
embarrassment  the  doctor  could  have  laughed. 
Joe  seemed  actually  to  be  apologizing  for  his  wife; 
because,  not  being  able  to  appreciate  the  strength 
of  his  temptation  she  was  hard  on  him !  But 
there  was  some  thought  which  held  his  mentor 
silent  and  unsmiling.  At  last  he  spoke,  with 
evident  effort : 

"Joe,  the  lady  of  whom  I  told  you,  looks  at 
these  things  in  a  different  light  from  what  you  do. 
She  evidently  understands,  in  a  degree  at  least, 
the  strength  of  the  appetite,  but  she  believes  that 
there  is  a  Power  outside  of  himself  which  a  man 
can  bring  to  bear  upon  it,  if  he  will.  In  other 
words,  she  believes  that  God,  the  God  whom  she 
worships,  stands  ready  to  help  any  poor  wretch 
who  is  willing  to  put  himself  in  the  way  of  help, 
and  follow  directions  ;  so  that  these  terrible  fits 
of  thirst  of  which  you  speak  shall  be  held  in 
check  by  His  Almightiness.  What  do  you  think 
of  that?" 

A  singular  change  had  come  upon  Joe's  face 
while  he  listened ;  his  bleared  eyes  were  turned 
from  the  wheel  and  the  sand,  and  their  gaze  fixed 
fully  upon  the  doctor's  face;  the  muscles  of  his 


ONE    DISCOVERS    HIS    OPPORTUNITY.  2/3 

lips  twitched  almost  convulsively,  and  something 
like  a  thrill  of  energy  seemed  to  run  through  his 
loosely-jointed  frame. 

"What  does  she  know  about  it?"  It  was  the 
first  short,  decisive  sentence  Dr.  Portland  had  ever 
heard  this  wreck  of  a  man  speak. 

"She  has  had  experience,  it  seems.  Has 
known  of  a  man,  or  of  men,  several  of  them,  who 
by  this  means  have  conquered  the  appetite,  even 
when  far  under  its  influence,  and  have  gotten 
back  their  manhood.  She  believes  that  you 
could  ;  and  moreover,  she  believes  that  such  a 
course  would  save  your  wife  from  the  mental 
wreck  which  she  will  almost  certainly  become, 
unless  relieved  from  the  fearful  strain  which  is 
upon  her  now." 

He  was  speaking  quite  glibly ;  if  there  was  a 
shadow  of  manhood  left  in  the  fellow,  certainly 
the  statement  which  he  had  now  boldly  made, 
ought  to  rouse  him.  He  was  hardly  prepared  for 
the  question  which  followed. 

"  Doctor,  do  you  believe  it  ?  " 

"  Do  I  believe  what  ? "  spoken  almost  sharply. 
There  was  that  in  Joe's  voice  which  made  him 
feel  that  the  question  was  not  asked  with  refer 
ence  to  his  latest  communication,  but  had  to  do 
with  a  subject  about  which  he  knew  less. 

"That  she's  right  in  what  she  thinks;  and 
that  a  fellow  like  me  could  tjet  a  hold  of  some- 


2/4  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

thing  or  somebody — it  would  have  to  be  God,  for 
there  ain't  any  mortal  could,  I  know  that  —  to 
help  him  when  the  spells  come  on  ?  Say  I've 
brought  'em  on  myself ;  and  I  know  it  is  true ; 
I've  told  myself  so  a  hundred  times ;  I  know 
there  was  a  place,  away  back,  where  I  could  have 
let  the  stuff  alone ;  but  say  that  time  is  past,  and 
it's  my  fault  that  it  is,  does  she  mean,  and  do  you 
mean  that  such  as  me  could  get  hold  of  this 
Something? " 

How  was  the  gay,  mocking,  skeptical  young 
man  to  answer  such  a  question  ?  A  man  who  had 
less  knowledge  of  the  human  frame,  and  of  the 
terrible  ravages  which  rum  can  make  upon  it, 
might  have  talked  eloquently  about  the  "God-like 
powers  of  the  human  will,"  and  the  "tremendous 
force  of  an  iron  resolution."  Dr.  Portland,  glanc 
ing  furtively  at  the  human  wreck  beside  him, 
could  not  bring  himself  to  utter  such  nonsense. 
Whatever  it  had  been  intended  the  will  should  do 
for  him,  poor  Joe  Carpenter  had  done  what  he 
could  to  make  his  powerless  to  resist  temptation, 
and  had  certainly  succeeded  well.  The  doctor 
would  not  have  trusted  the  strongest  promise  this 
weak-kneed,  trembling  wretch  could  make,  long 
enough  to  expect  it  to  last  him  while  passing  the 
next  liquor  saloon.  "  If  he  could  go  to  a  place 
where  the  sight  or  the  smell  of  the  stuff  could  not 
reach  him,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  "if  there 


ONE    DISCOVERS    HIS    OPPORTUNITY.  2/5 

were  such  a  place  on  this  rum-cursed  earth,  why, 
then  —  but  as  it  is"  —and  he  drew  a  long,  dis 
couraged  sigh. 

How,  then,  was  he  to  answer  Joe's  question  ? 
Was  there  really  no  hope  for  the  man  who  had 
placed  himself  in  such  a  cruel  position  ?  Volun 
tarily  released  his  will,  and  his  nerves,  even  his 
muscles  from  their  duty  toward  him  and  trained 
them  to  be  false  ?  In  his  heart  of  hearts  Dr.  Port 
land  believed  just  that.  "Nothing  less  than  a 
miracle  could  save  a  fellow  constituted  as  he  is, 
set  down  in  the  midst  of  temptation,"  he  told 
himself  resolutely ;  and  as  one  who  did  not 
believe  in  miracles,  what  was  he  to  say  ?  Joe 
was  waiting.  The  doctor  coughed  nervously  and 
cleared  his  throat ;  why  had  he  been  such  a  fool 
as  to  get  himself  into  this  ridiculous  position  ? 
Since  Joe  Carpenter  was,  by  his  own  confession, 
confirmed  by  scientific  knowledge,  too  far  gone  to 
exercise  self-control — always  supposing  he  had 
been  of  the  calibre  which  ever  exercises  it  to 
a  very  great  degree,  of  what  use  to  torment 
him  with  long  sermons  about  manhood,  and  the 
like  ? 

"My  mother  believed  in  it,"  he  said  at  last, 
and  his  voice  sounded  unnatural  even  to  himself; 
"she  had  utmost  confidence  in  this  miraculous 
power  which  is  supposed  to  get  hold  of  people; 
and  men  who  have  had  good  mothers  always 


2/6  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

believe  they  were  about  right  in  everything,  don't 
they?" 

"  Do  they  ? "  asked  Joe  Carpenter,  thoughtfully. 
"Then  I  ought  to  think  such  things,  for  my  old 
mother  was  one  of  them  kind.  I  believe  you're 
right,  doctor ;  mothers  is  queer ;  for  a  spell  you 
think  you  know  more  than  they  do,  and  then  you 
think  anyhow  you  know  about  as  much ;  and  after 
a  while  you  know  that  they  know  more  than  all 
creation  ? " 

This  bit  of  moralizing  fitted  in  with  Joe's  unus 
ual  mood ;  he  was  entirely  grave,  and  the  retro 
spective  notes  in  his  voice  had  still  that  touch  of 
pathos  ;  but  something  had  irritated  the  doctor. 

"If  you  had  such  a  mother  as  that  you  ought  to 
be  ashamed  of  yourself,"  he  said  in  caustic  tones. 

"I  am,"  said  Joe,  laconically.  "I've  been 
ashamed  this  long  time,  till  I  kind  of  got  used  to 
it,  and  expected  always  to  be,  and  no  help  for  it. 
But  I  seem  to  have  got  hold  of  a  new  idea  this 
afternoon,  somehow ;  I  don't  hardly  understand 
how.  I  know  there  are  such  folks  as  Christians, 
and  that  the  Lord  looks  after  'em  ;  He  did  after 
my  old  mother ;  but  looking  after  an  old  broken- 
down  hulk  like  me,  seems  different,  don't  it?" 

"Very  different!"  said  the  doctor  with  decis 
ion.  Then  he  reined  in  his  horses  so  suddenly 
that  they  almost  lost  their  balance,  adding  as  he 
did  so  : 


ONE    DISCOVERS    HIS    OPPORTUNITY.  277 

"I  have  to  stop  at  this  house,  and  shall  be 
detained  for  some  time ;  you  may  as  well  go  on." 

Thus  unceremoniously  dismissed,  Joe  moved 
slowly  away,  not  forgetting  to  say : 

"Thank  you  kindly,  doctor,  for  the  ride,"  but 
received  no  answer. 

"  Miserable  hypocrite ! "  said  the  doctor,  sav 
agely,  as  he  strode  up  the  sandy  path  leading  to 
the  house  where  he  was  due;  "if  I  had  nothing 
to  say,  I  wonder  why  I  was  such  a  fool  as  to 
undertake  to  say  it !  I  might  better  have  let  the 
old  fellow  alone."  He  had  not  been  so  utterly  out 
of  conceit  with  himself  in  years. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

ONE    OF    THEM    IS    AFRAID. 

IT  was  later  by  an  hour  or  two,  and  the  ponies 
were  safely  housed  and  fed,  when  walking 
slowly  down  the  street,  head  bent  as  in  a  deep 
study,  Dr.  Portland  almost  ran  against  a  swiftly- 
moving  object,  halted  with  a  dignified,  "beg  par 
don  "  ;  then  a  sudden  lighting  up  of  his  somber 
face,  and  a  cordial,  "Good  afternoon;  so  it  is  you 
with  whom  I  almost  collided !  I  beg  ten  thou 
sand  pardons.  I  was  deep  in  thought,  and  very 
stupid." 

Mrs.  Holmes  ignored  the  collision,  and  kept 
her  grave  and  troubled  face. 

"Doctor,  I  am  in  great  anxiety,"  she  said. 

"About  what?"  asked  the  doctor  in  a  sympa 
thetic  voice,  as  he  turned  and  joined  her. 

"About  a  young  woman  who  I  think  is  very 
ill,  and  her  friends  do  not  realize  it.  She  ought 
to  have  medical  care,  and  I  do  not  know  how 
278 


ONE    OF    THEM     IS    AFRAID. 

to  bring  it  to  pass.      Do  you   know   Mr.    George 
Hurst?" 

"  I  have  a  speaking  acquaintance  with  the  gen 
tleman  ;  what  of  him  ?  " 

"It  is  his  sister  who  is  ill.  Do  you  know 
who  their  family  physician  is?  Could  you  not  — 
would  it  be  stepping  beyond  the  bounds  of  pro 
fessional  etiquette  if  you  should  give  him  a  hint 
that  his  services  are  needed,  if  only  the  family 
knew  enough  to  send  for  him  ? " 

Dr.  Portland  drew  his  lips  into  a  curious  smile  : 
"  I  might  possibly  compass  it  if  I  knew  who  had 
the  honor  to  be  their  professional  adviser;  but  I 
fancy  that  they  belong  to  the  fortunate  class 
who,  as  a  rule,  do  without  us.  Why  doesn't  Hurst 
attend  to  the  business  ?  What  is  he  about  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,  I  am  sure ;  unless  he  is  under 
the  influence  of  his  strange  wife.  Madeline  has 
been  ill  for  a  week,  and  grows  daily  worse ;  she 
has  fever  constantly,  and  her  cough  is  alarming; 
yet  she  has  not  even  ordinary  care.  Mrs.  Hurst 
is  a  woman  whom  I  do  not  understand.  She 
seems  jealous  of  any  attempt  to  assist  her,  and 
angry  at  a  suggestion  which  is  made  for  Made 
line's  comfort.  I  was  there  this  morning  and  I 
could  see  that  the  poor  child  had  grown  steadily 
worse  since  yesterday ;  yet  they  let  her  lie  there, 
dying  slowly." 

"  Madeline   Hurst,"   said   the    doctor,   thought- 


28O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

fully.  "  Did  I  meet  her  at  your  rooms  one  even 
ing  ?  Yes,  I  remember ;  a  tall,  dark  girl  with 
brilliant  eyes,  and  a  fierce  temper;  so  she  is  ill,  is 
she?  Well,  she  is  not  the  one  to  trifle  with  a 
cough,  even  in  this  climate.  How  does  she  hap 
pen  to  be  your  friend,  Mrs.  Holmes?  On  the 
general  principle  that  the  unfortunate  may  always 
claim  you  ?" 

"  I  have  become  interested  in  her,"  said  Mrs. 
Holmes,  "and  fond  of  her.  I  do  not  think  her 
temper  is  any  worse,  perhaps,  than  mine  would  be 
under  like  circumstances.  Doctor,  can  you  do 
any  thing  to  help  me  ?  Could  you  not  speak  to 
Mr.  Hurst?" 

"Hardly,"  said  the  doctor,  with  a  shrewd  smile; 
"I  do  not  think  he  is  one  who  would  like  sugges 
tions  from  me ;  at  least,  I  feel  quite  certain  his 
wife  would  not ;  and  a  man  and  his  wife  are  one, 
you  know,  under  some  circumstances." 

They  had  reached  the  Hurst  home,  as  he 
spoke,  and  Mrs.  Holmes  had  halted  on  the  step 
to  give  him  opportunity  to  finish  his  sentence,  but 
he  made  no  motion  toward  going  on  ;  instead,  he 
followed  her  up  the  steps. 

"Oh,  I  do  not  ring,"  she  said,  quickly,  divin 
ing  his  intention  of  waiting  for  her  to  be  admit 
ted.  "The  door  is  never  locked ;  I  admit  myself 
and  go  up  to  Madeline's  room." 

"That  is  the  rdle,  is  it?     Then  shall  I  trouble 


ONE    OF    THEM    IS    AFRAID.  28 1 

you  to  admit  me  in  the  same  unceremonious 
way  ?" 

"Oh,  no,  indeed!"  said  the  lady,  much  dis 
tressed;  "it  would  not  do  at  all!  I  beg  your 
pardon,  but  I  am  afraid  it  will  not  do  for  you  to 
call.  Mrs.  Hurst  would  be  offended.  She  would 
think  we  had  interfered  unwarrantably." 

"  What,  in  making  a  friendly  call  ?  I  will  be 
entirely  non-professional,  I  assure  you ;  save  that 
I  may  be  able  to  relieve  your  anxiety  after  we  are 
away,  and  give  an  intelligent  opinion  to  my  friend 
Mr.  Hurst,  if  I  should  chance  to  have  the  oppor 
tunity,  and  could  convince  him  that  I  was  his 
friend." 

What  could  be  done  with  a  doctor  who  chose 
to  be  so  stupid  ?  She  supposed  he  had  visions  of 
a  neat,  well-appointed  sitting-room  like  the  one  in 
which  her  husband  received  his  visits,  among  the 
bright  cushions  and  afghans.  What  would  he 
think  of  poor  Madeline's  bare  attic  ?  Above  all, 
what  would  Mrs.  Hurst  say  or  do  if  by  any 
chance  he  was  admitted  to  a  sight  of  it  ?  More 
over,  there  was  a  wholesome  remembrance  of  that 
lady's  face  and  manner  when  she  affirmed  that 
she  would  not  have  Dr.  Portland  to  "doctor  a 
cat ! "  Certainly  he  was  not  their  professional 
choice. 

"  Indeed,  doctor,"  she  began,  in  exceeding  per 
plexity  and  embarrassment,  "  I  am  afraid  it  will 


282  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

do  only  harm  to  attempt  a  call ;  you  do  not  under 
stand  the  situation ;  there  are  some  things  I  can 
tell  you,  when  I  have  opportunity,  but  now"- 

"  Now,  if  I  will  only  go  away  and  leave  you  to 
wrestle  with  the  enemy,"  he  said,  smiling;  and  at 
that  moment  they  were  interrupted.  The  knob 
of  the  door  on  which  Mrs.  Holmes  had  cautiously 
kept  her  hand  was  suddenly  wrested  from  her, 
and  the  frowzle-headed  Nancy  appeared,  more 
frowzled  than  usual,  bare-headed  and  with  eyes 
dilated  ;  she  was  evidently  making  a  blind  dash 
for  somewhere. 

"Oh,  Mis'  Holmes!"  she  gasped;  "she's  chok 
ing  to  death,  I  do  believe!  and  Mis'  Hurst  is  that 
scared,  she  don't  know  what  to  do  ;  she  said  run 
for  a  doctor ;  but  I  don't  know  where  to  run,  nor 
nothing." 

Before  the  sentence  was  finished,  Mrs.  Holmes 
had  brushed  past  her,  waiting  only  to  say : 

"Doctor,  follow  me,"  and  was  half-way  up  the 
stairs. 

"I  am  a  doctor,"  the  gentleman  paused  to 
explain  to  the  frightened  girl,  then  taking  three 
steps  at  a  time  was  at  the  landing  as  soon  as  his 
guide.  Once  within  the  desolate  attic,  it  took 
him  but  a  moment  to  understand  the  situation 
and  assume  control.  Mrs.  Hurst,  thoroughly 
frightened  and  subdued,  obeyed  his  peremptory 
orders  as  best  she  could,  while  Nancy  ran 


ONE    OF    THEM    IS    AFRAID.  283 

hither  and  thither,  in  everybody's  way ;  and  Mrs. 
Holmes,  pale  and  quiet,  was  really  the  one  to  be 
relied  upon. 

"It  was  a  narrow  escape,"  the  doctor  said 
gravely,  an  hour  afterward,  as  he  stood  in  the 
little  parlor  below,  talking  with  Mr.  Hurst,  "five 
minutes  more,  and  it  would  have  been  too  late. 
The  disease  has  been  allowed  to  get  a  firm  hold, 
and  this  attack  was  unusually  dangerous.  Yes, 
sir,  she  is  a  very  sick  girl ;  I  can  not  tell  you, 
yet,  what  the  outcome  will  be ;  I  have  grave 
fears ;  in  fact,  to  be  perfectly  frank,  I  see  hardly 
a  chance  in  a  hundred  for  her." 

Mrs.  Hurst,  not  quite  so  subdued  as  when  she 
thought  herself  in  the  presence  of  death,  but 
still  meek,  for  her,  waited  only  until  Mrs.  Holmes 
engaged  the  doctor's  attention  with  a  question  of 
importance,  to  ask  her  husband  whether  Johnny 
would  not  better  go  at  once  for  Dr.  Gower,  so  as 
to  be  prepared  if  Mad  had  another  attack  like  the 
last.  Then  George  Hurst  arose  to  one  of  those 
outbursts  which  at  rare  intervals  were  drawn  from 
him. 

No,  Johnny  should  not  go  for  Dr.  Gower;  he 
would  not  have  Dr.  Gower  in  the  house;  every 
body  knew  he  was  an  old  blunderer,  and  that  Dr. 
Portland  was  the  skilled  physician  of  the  city. 
Mad  should  have  the  best  there  was  to  have ;  he 
had  not  understood,  how  should  he,  that  she  was 


284  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

so  sick?  He  would  not  have  had  her  disease  run 
on  in  this  way,  without  treatment,  for  all  he  was 
worth !  It  was  the  way  his  mother  went ;  and 
he  had  always  been  afraid  Maddie  would  be  like 
her ;  she  was  all  he  had  !  "The  only  sister  I  ever 
had,"  he  said,  turning  to  Dr.  Portland,  and  there 
were  tears  in  his  eyes;  "there  were  only  two  of 
us.  There  isn't  any  thing  I  wouldn't  do  for  Mad- 
die.  You  think  you  can  save  her,  don't  you, 
doctor?" 

"I  will  do  my  utmost,"  said  Dr.  Portland  with 
kind  gravity;  "but  the  simple  truth  is,  that  the 
disease  has  gotten  a  firm  and  most  dangerous  hold. 
As  I  said,  the  chance  is  only  one  in  a  hundred." 

The  words  sounded  cruel,  but  the  doctor  knew 
enough  of  human  nature  to  feel  certain  that  the 
fierce-eyed  woman  who  was  listening,  needed  the 
plainest  possible  speech. 

There  followed  days  which  were  strange  ones 
to  look  back  upon ;  days  filled  with  constant 
watching  and  anxiety.  The  Hursts  were  poor; 
there  was  much  that  they  could  not  compass;  and 
indeed  if  money  had  been  plenty,  professional 
nurses  were  not,  in  that  little  city ;  so  the  watch 
ing  was  divided  as  well  as  it  could  be,  among  the 
few  who  could  be  depended  upon.  Mrs.  Hurst 
did  her  best ;  she  was  thoroughly  frightened,  and 
repentant  of  some  things ;  she  did  not  want  her 
sister-in-law  to  die;  she  had  not  at  any  time 


ONE    OF    THEM    IS    AFRAID.  28$ 

dreamed  of  such  a  possibility ;  she  had  honestly 
believed  her  illness  to  be  trivial,  and  was  sincere 
in  her  statements  that  "Mad  made  a  fuss  about 
trifles,"  and  had  a  passion  for  being  "coddled." 

In  a  dull,  easily-comforted  way,  she  would  actu 
ally  have  missed  the  girl,  had  she  died ;  above  all, 
she  did  not  want  her  to  die,  with  that  hateful  doc 
tor's  words  sounding  in  their  ears  :  "  The  truth  is, 
the  disease  has  been  permitted  to  get  a  dangerous 
hold."  What  would  people  say  to  that? 

But  Mrs.  Hurst  was  no  nurse ;  and  the  sick  girl 
so  visibly  shrank  from  her  ministrations  as  to 
make  it  awkward  for  both ;  among  those  whom 
this  family  called  'friends'  there  were  strangely 
few  who  seemed  to  have  the  ability  or  the  inclina 
tion  to  come  to  their  aid  in  this  time  of  need  ;  so 
the  business  of  nursing  was  narrowed  down  to  a 
very  few,  prominent  among  whom  was  Mrs.  Car 
penter  ;  who,  it  seemed,  could  wash  and  iron  day 
times,  and  sit  up  nights.  Mrs.  Hurst  would  not 
for  the  world  have  lost  caste  by  recognizing  the 
woman  on  the  street  as  an  acquaintance,  but  she 
learned  to  welcome  her  strong,  cold  face  with  such 
a  sense  of  relief  as  she  could  not  have  described  ; 
and  replied  at  times,  almost  gratefully  to  her  brief, 
cold  sentence:  "I'm  going  to  stay  all  night;  you 
can  go  to  bed  as  quick  as  you  please." 

The  other  extremely  important  nurse  was  Mrs. 
Holmes ;  she  gave  every  moment  during  the  day 


286  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

which  could  be  spared  from  her  husband  ;  and  was 
as  near  rebellion  as  she  ever  came,  over  his  per 
emptory  refusal  to  allow  an  hour  of  night  watch 
ing  for  her.  The  doctor  sustained  him  obstinately 
in  this  last. 

"You  are  right,  Holmes;  she  needs  a  keeper. 
She  would  work  day  and  night,  if  she  could  ;  and 
it  won't  do  ;  I  don't  want  her  on  my  hands  as  a 
patient ;  not  until  I  get  rid  of  this  one ;  she  is  too 
valuable  as  a  nurse." 

But  there  came  a  night  when  neither  doctor  nor 
husband  could  resist  the  summons.  Indeed,  the 
doctor  himself  sent  for  her.  "She's  in  such  a 
way,"  explained  Nancy,  whose  frowzy  head  was 
hidden  under  an  indescribable  hat,  "that  the  doctor 
says  she'll  die  of  it  if  she  don't  get  quiet,  and  he 
says,  says  he,  'Mis'  Holmes  can  quiet  her  if  any 
body  can  ;  and  you  tell  her  to  make  all  possible 
speed.'  Them  was  his  very  words,  and  Liph  Stet 
son,  he's  waiting  to  go  along  with  you  ;  though 
there  ain't  no  need  of  that,  for  I  ain't  afraid  of 
nothing ;  but  the  doctor  he  said  so  ;  and  Liph  said 
he'd  be  at  the  front  door,  waiting." 

While  she  talked,  Mrs.  Holmes  was  making 
ready. 

It  was  a  frightful  scene  upon  which  she  entered 
a  few  moments  later.  Long  afterward,  when  very 
tired  and  overwrought  she  lay  down  to  rest  and 
closed  her  eyes,  there  would  come  before  her  men- 


ONE    OF    THEM    IS    AFRAID.  287 

tal  vision  a  haunting  picture  of  that  room ;  not  the 
attic,  as  Dr.  Portland's  first  order  had  been  to 
remove  his  patient  to  a  room  where  a  fire  could  be 
had ;  it  was  Mrs.  Hurst's  own  chamber,  and 
though  bare  of  many  things  which  the  ordinary 
chamber  is  supposed  to  need,  was  a  great  improve 
ment  on  the  attic.  A  wide  bed  made  up  with 
some  regard  to  comfort  was  one  of  the  improve 
ments  ;  but  the  hollow-eyed  girl  who  glared  at  the 
new-comer  as  she  opened  the  door,  was  far 
enough  from  comfort. 

"Am  I  going  to  die?"  she  asked,  as  Mrs. 
Holmes  gently  closed  the  door,  "tell  me  this  min 
ute  !  am  I  going  to  die  ?  I  know  you  will  tell  me 
the  truth  ;  the  rest  all  think  it  is  smart  to  try  and 
deceive  me,  to  turn  off  my  questions  with  some 
smooth-sounding,  false  words;  but  I  can  believe 
what  you  say." 

"Tell  her  no,"  said  the  doctor,  low-voiced  at 
the  new  comer's  side,  "tell  her  she  is  better,  and 
that  she  needs  only  to  be  quiet  and  go  to  sleep  in 
order  to  improve  rapidly." 

Mrs.  Holmes  fixed  a  pair  of  anxious  eyes 
upon  the  speaker's  face.  "  Doctor,  is  it  true  ?  "  she 
murmured. 

His  face  flushed  and  he  spoke  haughtily  : 

"At  least  it  is  necessary  in  order  to  secure 
quiet ;  this  excitement  is  simply  suicidal.  No, 
since  you  are  so  anxious  for  the  truth,  I  have 


288  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

almost  no  hope  of  her  case,  and  she  is  destroying 
what  shreds  of  hope  there  were." 

"What  are  you  two  whispering  about?"  this 
from  the  bed,  in  the  same  high-keyed,  excited 
voice,  "  I  do  not  want  any  patched-up  story ;  I 
thought  when  you  came  I  should  have  the  truth." 

Mrs.  Holmes  went  swiftly  over  and  knelt  by 
the  bedside ;  she  possessed  herself  of  the  fevered 
hand,  and  spoke  in  low,  soothing  tones  : 

"Madeline,  I  do  not  know;  no  one  knows  but 
God ;  we  hope  you  are  going  to  get  well ;  but  I 
can  not  bear  it,  to  have  you  care  so  much.  I 
want  it  to  be  well  with  you  whether  you  live  or 
not." 

"That  is  impossible,"  said  the  girl,  and  her 
eyes  looked  larger  and  blacker  than  ever  before ; 
"I  am  afraid;  I  am  awfully  afraid  to  die.  I  can 
not  die ! " 

Her  tones  kept  rising,  until  on  the  last  word 
they  were  almost  a  shriek.  In  vain  Mrs.  Holmes 
tried  to  hold  the  tossing  hands,  tried  to  make  cool, 
quieting  passes  over  the  flushed  forehead,  tried  to 
speak  simple,  earnest  words  of  helpfulness;  she 
could  not  listen,  she  had  lost  the  power  to  control 
herself;  she  could  only  cry  out  wildly,  "I  cannot 
die;  I  am  afraid!"  The  awe-stricken  watchers 
stood  helplessly  around.  Mrs.  Hurst,  frightened 
almost  as  much  as  was  the  sick  girl ;  her  husband 
pressing  his  nervous  hands  together  in  frantic  dis- 


ONE    OF    THEM    IS    AFRAID.  289 

gust  of  his  impotency,  and  with  eyes'  heavy  with 
unshed  tears  ;  Mrs.  Carpenter,  upon  whose  face 
was  a  look  of  sullen  mockery.  At  last  the  doctor 
came  forward,  his  face  more  sternly  set  than  Mrs. 
Holmes  had  ever  seen  it.  "This  will  not  do,"  he 
said  decidedly,  "  I  must  give  her  an  opiate ;  you 
are  only  making  her  worse."  But  the  next 
moment  he  had  reason  to  regret  his  words. 

"I  will  not  take  an  opiate,"  said  Madeline, 
throwing  herself  to  the  further  side  of  the  bed. 
"At  least  I  will  die  with  what  mind  I  have.  You 
need  not  bring  it  ;  I  will  never  swallow  it." 

He  leaned  over  her  and  tried  to  speak  gently  : 

"This  will  not  put  you  to  sleep;  it  will  simply 
quiet  your  nerves  ;  this  excitement  is  bad  for  you  ; 
if  you  will  be  as  quiet  as  possible,  I  am  looking  to 
see  you  much  better  in  the  morning." 

It  would  seem  as  though  it  must  have  been 
difficult  for  Dr.  Portland  to  forget  the  next  words 
which  were  spoken  to  him.  Madeline's  great 
black  eyes  were  leveled  fully  at  him  and  she 
spoke  slowly,  evidently  trying  to  control  her 
fierce  excitement,  the  better  to  impress  him  : 

"You  deceived  me,"  she  said;  "you  told  me  1 
was  better  —  was  doing  nicely;  and  I  overheard 
you,  five  minutes  afterward,  telling  Mrs.  Hurst 
that  there  was  hardly  a  shadow  of  a  chance  for 
me.  Do  you  think  I  will  believe  anything  you 
say,  after  this  ?  I  wish  you  would  go  away.  I 


2QO  HF.R    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

tell  you  I  am  afraid  to  die  ;   none   of  you  know 

anything    about    that,    but    Mrs.    Holmes.  She 

could  help  me  if  I  were  not  already  beyond  help ; 

but  oh,  I  know  I  am,  I  tell  you  I  know  I  am ! " 
and  her  voice  arose  into  a  shriek  again. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

ONE    ASKS    EMBARRASSING    QUESTIONS. 

IT  was  a  fearful  night.  When,  after  hours  of 
agony,  the  sufferer  sank  into  a  troubled  sleep 
from  mere  exhaustion,  the  watchers  felt,  some  of 
them,  months  older  than  when  the  night  began. 
The  gray  dawn  of  another  day  was  creeping  into 
the  room,  when  Dr.  Portland  came  and  spoke  to 
Mrs.  Holmes. 

"  You  would  better  let  me  take  you  home ;  you 
can  do  nothing  here,  and  your  husband  will  be 
anxious.  She  will  sleep,  or  at  least  lie  quietly 
for  some  time  now ;  I  succeeded  in  getting  that 
opiate  swallowed,  at  last." 

He  spoke  coldly,  as  one  who  was  simply  per 
forming  a  professional  duty  without  any  personal 
ity  of  any  sort. 

As  it  seemed  to  be  only  too  true  that  she  could 
do  nothing,  Mrs.  Holmes  made  no  objection  to 
his  suggestion. 

291 


2Q2  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

They  walked  on  in  silence  for  some  moments; 
at  last  she  asked:  "What  do  you  think  of  her 
now,  doctor?  What  is  the  outlook?" 

"It  is  impossible  to  say.  That  she  is  living  is 
a  matter  of  surprise  to  me.  I  had  supposed  her 
too  weak  to  endure  any  such  strain  as  she  put 
upon  herself;  but  in  reality  I  can  not  see  that  she 
is- any  nearer  the  end  than  she  was  last  night;  I 
have  almost  no  hope  of  her  recovery,  it  that  is 
what  your  question  means." 

Mrs.  Holmes  drew  a  long,  heavy  sigh.  Then, 
after  another  square  had  been  made  in  silence, 
"Doctor,  from  your  stand-point  it  must  have 
seemed  strange  to  you  that  I  said  what  I  did 
last  night.  I  could  not  repeat  your  words,  being 
assured  from  you  that  they  were  false.  I  simply 
could  not  take  the  responsibility  of  deceiving  a 
soul  which  might  in  a  few  hours  more  be  in  the 
presence  of  God."  The  doctor  bowed  gravely. 
"Our  standpoints  are  different,  as  you  say,"  he 
replied ;  "  I  thought,  as  I  told  you,  that  there 
might  be  a  chance  for  her,  if  we  could  calm  that 
terrible  excitement.  I  confess  I  fail  to  see  what 
difference  to  you  a  few  soothing  words  could  have 
made  at  such  a  time ;  they  would  not  have  altered 
existing  facts,  and  they  might  have  aided  in  the 
physical  struggle." 

"But,  Dr.  Portland,  they  were  false  words!  Is 
the  truth  to  be  toyed  with  at  our  pleasure,  and 


ONE    ASKS    EMBARRASSING    QUESTIONS.        2Q3 

used,  or  not,  according  as  in  our  short-sighted 
wisdom  may  seem  best  ? " 

"  Even  the  truth  should  not  be  spoken  at  all 
times,"  he  said,  evading  the  question  at  issue  in 
a  graceful  way  which  he  had. 

"I  admit  it;  but  should  untruth  be  spoken  at 
any  time  ? " 

The  doctor  was  still  excited,  and  vexed  that  his 
professional  directions  had  been  disobeyed,  or  he 
would  not  have  been  guilty  of  the  rudeness  of  his 
next  remark. 

"  If  it  had  been  the  life  of  your  husband  which 
was  at  stake  it  would  have  dulled  your  careful 
discrimination  between  truth  and  falsehood,  I 
imagine." 

Her  answer  was  given  after  a  longer  silence 
than  before,  and  was  lower  toned:  "Doctor  Port 
land,  you  have  probed  deeply  and  found  my  idol ; 
I  admit  it ;  and  it  is  true  that  I  do  not  know  how 
strong  I  should  be  under  temptation  ;  but  still  I 
believe  that  I  love  my  Savior  more  than  I  do  my 
husband,  and  that  He  would  keep  me  from  dis 
honoring  him,  even  in  such  an  hour  as  that." 

Then  they  had  reached  Mrs.  Stetson's  door, 
and  with  no  other  words  than  a  gentle  "good 
morning"  she  left  him. 

Dr.  Portland  went  on  down  the  street  with  long, 
angry  strides,  telling  himself  that  he  was  a  con 
summate  idiot  and  a  boor  besides,  and  that  he 


294  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

ought  to  know  enough  by  this  time  not  to  meddle 

with  other  people's  whims  whatever  they  might  be. 

****** 

They  were  in  the  stuffy  little  parlor  which 
belonged  to  the  Hurst  family.  Madeline,  as  pale 
as  the  white  wrapper  she  wore,  lay  on  the  lounge 
which  had  been  wheeled  toward  the  window  to 
give  her  a  glimpse  of  the  wonderful  sunset  dis 
play.  A  crimson  afghan  was  thrown  over  the 
foot  of  the  couch,  the  only  bit  of  color  about  the 
girl.  Standing  at  a  little  distance  from  the  couch 
in  such  a  way  as  to  command  a  full  view  of  her 
face,  was  Dr.  Portland.  He  studied  her  critically, 
while  she  studied  the  crimson  and  gold  outside. 

"We  need  to  plan  some  way  to  transfer  a  few 
touches  of  that  to  your  face,"  he  said,  inclining 
his  head  toward  the  afghan,  as  her  eyes  came 
slowly  back  from  the  outside  world.  "What  is  the 
use  of  looking  like  a  wilted  leaf  all  the  time? 
Why  don't  you  gain  strength  faster?  There  isn't 
any  sense  in  creeping  along  at  this  snail  pace." 

The  faintest  tinge  of  color  showed  for  a 
moment  on  the  pallor,  as  Madeline  said  slowly, 
"Mrs.  Hurst  thinks  the  same.  She  has  an  idea 
that  if  I  but  made  the  attempt,  I  could  be  as 
strong  as  anybody.  Is  there  truth  in  it,  doctor?" 

"I  hope  and  believe  so,"  said  the  doctor, 
promptly;  "but  you  and  she  would  better  see  to 
it  that  no  attempts  are  made  except  under  my 


ONE    ASKS    EMBARRASSING    QUESTIONS.         295 

direction,  for  some  time  to  come.  I'll  have  a  talk 
with  Mrs.  Hurst,  and  give  her  some  very  express 
ive  directions.  What  you  need  to  do  is,  to 
attempt  to  care  a  little  more  about  it.  At  this 
present  time,  to  speak  frankly,  you  impress  me 
as  a  person  who  has  too  little  interest  in  the  get 
ting  well  to  make  the  mental,  not  physical  effort, 
necessary." 

That  faint  tinge  of  color  came  again,  and  faded 
as  quickly,  leaving  the  face  almost  paler  than 
before.  "It  is  only  too  true,"  the  girl  said, 
gravely ;  "  I  do  not  think  I  have  the  interest  in 
getting  well  that  most  people  would.  It  is  not 
strange ;  I  am  more  entirely  alone  in  the  world 
than  most  girls  are.  And  yet,"  she  hesitated,  and 
the  gravity  deepened,  "it  is  also  true,"  she  began 
again  after  a  moment,  "that  I  am  not  at  all  ready 
to  die.  I  proved  that  to  you,  that  night,  I  think, 
when  you  all  believed  I  was  going.  I  have  been 
wanting  to  speak  to  you  about  it.  I  believe  I  was 
rude.  I  did  not  know  what  I  was  saying,  I  think. 
And  you  have  been  so  very  kind  to  me  that  I  do 
not  want  to  be  rude." 

"That  is  not  even  to  be  remembered,"  the  doc 
tor  said,  briskly.  "Do  you  not  understand  that 
physicians  have  learned  not  to  attach  the  slightest 
importance  to  what  people  say  when  they  are  ill  ? 
I  assure  you  I  have  never  given  that  feature  of 
the  time  a  second  thought,  and  it  would  be  for 


296  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

your  advantage  to  dismiss  that  entire  week  from 
your  mind  as  much  as  possible." 

"But  I  want  to  think  about  it,  doctor,  if  you 
please,  and  to  ask  some  questions.  Do  you  still 
think  that  I  was  so  very  sick?" 

"You  certainly  were,"  he  answered,  with  a 
smile;  "I  see  no  advantage  to  be  gained  in  beg 
ging  the  question  at  this  late  day.  I  do  not 
remember  ever  to  have  had  a  patient  over  whom 
I  was  so  hopeless,  who  rallied  so  encouragingly 
as  you  have  done  and  are  doing.  I  think  I  may 
safely  be  congratulated  on  my  success." 

She  did  not  respond  to  his  gay  smile ;  instead, 
her  face  was  grave  even  to  somberness.  "  But  it 
is  after  all  only  for  a  little  while,"  she  said 
in  intense  seriousness.  A  shadow  of  anxiety 
clouded  Dr.  Portland's  face. 

"You  are  mistaken,"  he  answered  quickly, 
"  there  is  no  necessity  for  your  feeling  yourself 
doomed  to  invalidism  ;  with  proper  care  I  look  to 
see  your  health  firmly  established,  so  that  in  time 
you  may  even  be  strong ;  but  the  way  to  accom 
plish  this  is  to  banish  all  brooding  thoughts  and 
bring  your  resolute  common-sense  to  bear  upon 
the  case." 

"I  do  not  mean  quite  what  you  think,"  she 
said,  still  gravely ;  "  I  know  I  am  better,  am  get 
ting  well ;  and,  as  I  told  you,  I  do  not  feel  so 
glad  over  it  as  most  girls  would,  or  I  should  not. 


ONE    ASKS    EMBARRASSING    QUESTIONS.        2Q/ 

if  —  Dr.  Portland,  I  did  not  think  I  should  be  so 
afraid  to  die.  I  had  thought  about  it  often,  and 
wished  that  I  could  —  even  wished  that  it  could 
be  right  to  take  life  into  my  own  hands  and 
decide  when  it  should  end ;  when  I  was  safe 
and  well,  and  far  away  from  death,  I  thought  I 
should  not  be  in  the  least  afraid ;  but  it  was  a 
different  thing  to  come  to  what  I  thought  was 
the  very  verge.  I  was  terribly  afraid."  A  per 
ceptible  shudder  ran  through  her  frame  at  the 
recollection. 

"That  was  perfectly  natural,"  said  the  doctor, 
very  kindly.  "Life  is  natural  to  the  young;  they 
ought  to  desire  it,  and  to  shrink  from  death  ;  it 
was  intended  that  it  should  be  so." 

Madeline  shook  her  head.  "  It  is  not  a  ques 
tion  of  age,  doctor.  There  was  a  woman,  old  and 
poor,  who  lived  near  our  home  when  I  was  a  little 
girl.  I  was  in  the  room  when  she  died ;  my 
mother  went  to  watch  with  her,  and  as  there  was 
no  one  to  stay  with  me,  she  took  me  with  her. 
In  the  night  the  woman  grew  suddenly  worse,  and 
I  heard  the  noise  and  came  in ;  it  was  dreadful ! 
She  was  afraid  too  —  oh,  awfully  afraid  !  And  her 
hair  was  white ;  she  must  have  been  seventy,  or 
more.  At  her  age,  according  to  the  natural  way 
of  looking  at  this  matter,  she  ought  to  have 
expected  death,  and  been  prepared  for  it ;  she  was 
anything  but  that!  She  died  in  mortal  terror;  it 


298  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

was  months  before  I  could  go  to  sleep  at  night 
without  going  over  the  scene." 

"  I  do  not  wonder ;  it  was  a  terrible  ordeal  to 
which  to  subject  a  child.  What  I  wish  now  is, 
that  you  would  put  all  such  somber  memories 
quite  away,  and  make  yourself  grow  strong." 

"But  there  is  a  great  difference  in  people,"  she 
went  on,  quietly,  ignoring  his  last  suggestion. 
"  My  mother  was  young,  was  not  fifty  when  she 
died,  and  there  was  not  a  thread  of  gray  in  her 
beautiful  hair ;  but  she  was  not  in  the  least  afraid. 
She  spoke  of  dying  as  simply  as  I  might  speak  of 
going  out  into  the  sunshine.  Oh,  better  than 
that,  she  was  very  glad  to  go ;  and  I  was  foolish 
enough  to  imagine  that  when  the  time  came  for 
me,  I  should  feel  as  she  did  ! " 

Dr.  Portland  seemed  to  have  no  reply  ready 
for  the  next  pause,  and  there  was  silence  for  a 
moment ;  then,  Madeline,  still  with  the  look  of 
intense  sorrowful  earnestness  on  her  pale  face, 
spoke  again : 

"And  so,  doctor,  what  I  meant  was,  that  there 
was  more  than  a  question  of  age  involved ;  and  I 
mean  also  that  it  is  something  which  is  sure  to 
come.  I  am  better  now,  it  is  true,  but  who  can 
tell  how  soon  or  how  suddenly  I  might  be  called 
upon  to  die  ?  In  any  event,  it  is  certain  to  come 
some  time." 

"That    is    true,"    he    said    with    a    gravity    as 


ONE    ASKS    EMBARRASSING    QUESTIONS.        2Q9 

marked  as  her  own;  "death  is  the  one  thing  of 
which  we  seem  to  be  sure." 

"And  since  this  is  so,  ought  not  we,  ought  not 
I,  to  do  what  I  can  to  get  ready  for  it  ?  If  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  meeting  even  death  with  such 
a  smile  as  my  mother  wore,  would  it  not  be  the 
most  reasonable  thing  for  me  to  find  out  how — I 
mean  before  the  time  came,  so  that  it  need  not 
take  me  unawares  ? " 

"That  sounds  like  a  common-sense  view  of 
the  subject,"  he  answered,  trying  to  speak  lightly; 
"but  I  think  T  would  not  talk  about  it  any  longer 
just  now.  You  are  hardly  strong  enough  for 
such  grave  themes." 

"  I  think  I  am  ;  I  think  you  are  mistaken  in 
me.  It  troubles  me,  haunts  me;  that  night  when 
I  felt  my  breath  going  from  me,  and  knew  that 
there  was  a  great  horror  of  darkness  for  me  to 
step  into,  I  resolved  that  I  would,  if  I  ever  had 
another  chance,  live  differently,  and  get  ready, 
if  possible,  to  die  differently ;  if  I  were  only 
ready,  Dr.  Portland,  I  confess  to  you  that  I 
would  be  very  glad  to  g  > ;  because  I  am  peculiarly 
lonely  and  desolate  here.  I  decided  this  morning 
that  I  would  talk  to  you  about  it  at  the  first 
opportunity,  and  get  your  advice  as  to  how  to 
begin." 

"  I  do  not  think  I  quite  comprehend  your  mean 
ing,"  said  the  doctor  in  visible  embarrassment; 


3OO  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

speaking  these  words  more  for  the  purpose  of 
gaining  time  than  because  he  did  not  understand 
her. 

"Why,  it  is  like  this,"  she  said  simply;  "I 
once  thought  I  was  a  Christian.  I  used  to  pray, 
and  to  read  in  the  Bible,  and  go  to  prayer-meeting 
and  all  those  things;  I  thought  I  knew  all  about 
it,  and  was  on  the  right  road.  But  when  mother 
died,  I  was  miserable ;  rebellious,  they  called  it, 
and  I  suppose  I  was ;  gradually  I  gave  up  all  idea 
of  such  a  life  and  felt  that  there  was  not  much 
truth  in  religion,  any  way.  It  made  matters  worse 
to  remember  that  Mrs. — that  certain  people 
whom  I  knew  very  well  and  did  not  even  respect, 
were  church  members;  I  grew  suspicious,  and 
watchful  of  people  who  made  such  professions, 
and  liked  to  find  the  inconsistencies.  Gradually 
I  lost  faith  in  almost  every  one's  religion,  only 
mother's ;  you  will  see  how  absurdly  inconsistent 
I  was  when  I  tell  you  that  I  never  for  a  moment 
doubted  her  kind.  But  I  told  myself  that  I  could 
never  be  like  her,  because  our  temperaments  were 
utterly  different,  and  that  at  least  I  would  not  be 
a  hypocrite ;  so  it  is  different  with  me  from  those 
who  have  always  lived  thoughtless  lives,  and  never 
had  their  attention  especially  called  to  this  sub 
ject.  It  is  as  though  I  had  enlisted  once,  and 
then  deliberately  deserted,  because  I  did  not 
believe  in  some  who  were  in  the  army ;  and  I  do 


MADKLINE    \\.VITKU    1'ATIEXTLY. 


ONE    ASKS    EMBARRASSING    QUESTIONS.        3<DI 

not  seem  to  know  the  way  to  re-enlist.  I  had  a 
feeling  that  you  could  help  me." 

"May  I  ask  why?" 

There  was  no  attempt  at  a  smile  upon  the  doc 
tor's  face  ;  he  was  both  embarrassed  and  puzzled ; 
no  problem  ever  presented  to  him  had  been  so 
difficult  of  solution  as  this.  Madeline's  reply  was 
direct  enough. 

"  Because  I  have  noticed  that  you  seemed  to 
see  through  things  so  quickly ;  to  understand  half 
statements,  and  go  directly  to  first  causes.  You 
have  seemed  to  understand  how  I  felt,  for 
instance,  better  than  I  did  myself ;  and  your 
replies  to  questions  are  always  so  direct  and  sim 
ple  ;  so  easy  to  grasp  and  understand.  That  was 
why  I  thought  you  could  tell  me  in  a  few  plain 
words,  what  I  need  to  know." 

Dr.  Portland  walked  abruptly  to  the  window, 
and  looked  out.  Madeline  waited  patiently  ;  she 
imagined  that  he  saw  something  outside,  which 
demanded  his  thought.  As  for  him,  he  had  never 
felt  so  much  like  a  coward  in  his  life ;  had  there 
been  an  imperative  summons  at  the  moment,  call 
ing  him  to  a  twenty-mile  drive  through  the  woods, 
he  would  have  hailed  it  as  a  relief.  He  almost 
wished  that  his  usually  restless  ponies  would 
break  away  and  demand  immediate  attention,  but 
they  stood  in  unusual  quietness  awaiting  his 
pleasure.  At  last  he  turned  : 


3O2  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"You  have  made  a  mistake,  Miss  Madeline," 
he  said,  attempting  to  smile.  "The  matters 
about  which  I  am  clear,  and  can  speak  to  the 
point,  have  to  do  with  my  profession  ;  no  person 
could  be  in  greater  fog  in  regard  to  the  subject 
which  interests  you,  than  I  am.  I  would  be  very 
glad  to  help  you  if  I  could,  but  it  is  utterly  out  of 
my  power." 

She  was  looking  earnestly  at  him  with  those 
intense  black  eyes.  "  Are  you  not  a  Christian, 
then?"  she  asked  at  last,  and  he  detected  the 
note  of  grave  surprise  in  her  voice. 

"  I  can  not  lay  the  slightest  claim  to  any  such 
title." 

A  moment  of  silence,  then  there  came  one  of 
those  long,  desolate  sighs,  peculiar  to  the  girl,  as 
she  said  :  "  I  beg  your  pardon ;  I  find  I  am  sur 
prised.  I  think  I  believed  that  all  physicians 
understood  these  things ;  they  deal  so  continually 
with  sickness  and  trouble,  and  so  often  come  in 
contact  with  death,  that  it  seemed  natural."  She 
was  so  pale,  so  sad,  so  desolate,  that  he  could  not 
bring  himself  to  be  willing  to  go  away  without  an 
attempt  to  help  her. 

"  You  certainly  know  of  one  person  who  could 
afford  you  all  the  help  you  may  need,"  he  said, 
kindly.  "Has  not  your  friend  Mrs.  Holmes  made 
it  apparent  that  this  subject  stands  first  in  her 
thoughts?" 


ONE    ASKS    EMBARRASSING    QUESTIONS.         303 

"I  know  she  could  help  me,"  Madeline  said, 
quickly,  "but  I  do  not  expect  her  to-day;  she  was 
here  yesterday,  and  it  is  a  long  walk,  you  know. 
I  have  been  thinking  about  this  all  the  morning, 
and  I  suppose  it  is  because  I  am  sick  and  weak, 
but  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  could  not  wait  until 
to-morrow ;  I  wanted  to  know  some  things  right 
away. 

"That  at  least  is  a  common  condition  with  sick 
people,"  he  said,  smiling,  and  trying  to  speak  in 
his  usual  tone  of  voice;  "what  they  want,  they 
want  immediately,  and  as  I  always  advocate  grati 
fying  them  if  possible,  with  your  permission  I  will 
drive  around  and  bring  Mrs.  Holmes  to  you  if  she 
is  able  to  come." 

The  grateful  look  he  received  sent  him  away  at 
once ;  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  Dr.  Portland  never 
went  on  such  a  peculiar  errand  before. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

ONE,    LOSES    HIS    IDENTITY. 

IS  she  worse?"  was  Mrs.  Holmes'  instant  and 
troubled  question. 

"Not  at  all;  on  the  contrary,  she  is  better 
to-day  than  I  have  yet  found  her ;  that  is,  her 
pulse  is  stronger  and  there  is  a  steady  improve 
ment  in  all  directions." 

"Then,  is  it  any  thing  of  importance,  doctor, 
any  thing  which  will  not  do  as  well  to-morrow  ? 
Because  I  have  promised  to  help  Mrs.  Stetson 
this  afternoon  with  a  little  domestic  matter,  if  I 
can,  and  " 

The  doctor  interrupted  gravely :  "  I  consider  it 
very  important  that  you  spend  the  next  hour  with 
Miss  Hurst,  if  possible;  I  have  reason  to  think 
that  in  your  judgment  domestic  matters  of  all 
sorts  will  sink  into  the  background  before  the  sub 
ject  about  which  she  wishes  to  consult  you ;  and 
invalids  must  not  be  crossed,  unless  there  is  an 
imperative  reason." 

"  I  will  go  at  once,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes.      It  was 

3°4 


ONE,    LOSES    HIS    IDENTITY.  305 

evident  that  his  gravity  and  reticence  troubled 
her.  Since  he  had  no  explanation  to  make,  she 
set  about  studying  out  one  for  herself  and  pres 
ently  asked  a  question  in  line  with  her  troubled 
thoughts. 

"  Dr.  Portland,  do  you  know  a  Mr.  Arson  ? 
And  if  so,  what  do  you  know  of  him  ? " 

"  Mr.  N.  S.  Arson  ?  I  know  him  quite  as  well 
as  I  care  to,  and  I  know  no  good  of  him.  May  I 
ask  why  he  is  a  subject  of  interest  to  you  ? " 

"There  are  several  reasons  why,"  she  answered 
in  distress.  "  Can  you  tell  me  what  to  do  with  a 
foolish  child  who  knows  almost  nothing  of  the 
world,  when  a  bad  man  deliberately  sets  out  to 
deceive  her,  and  gains  such  an  influence  that  she 
will  believe  his  word  rather  than  your  own  ?  " 

"  Mrs.  Holmes,  you  can  not  be  speaking  of  that 
scoundrel  in  connection  with  Madeline  Hurst!" 

"  No,  I  am  not  speaking  of  Madeline  Hurst," 
Mrs.  Holmes  said  quickly,  but  with  heightened 
color;  she  felt  that  there  were  complications 
between  those  two  which  justified  her  in  think 
ing  anxiously  about  them,  but  she  had  no  right 
to  speak. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  the  doctor  in  his 
usual  tone  ;  "  I  was  surprised  into  asking  ques 
tions  which  do  not  concern  me.  As  to  your 
•query,  it  is  not  an  easy  one  to  answer;  though  I 
think  if  the  motive  for  doing  so  was  imperative,  I 


306  HER  ASSOCIATE   MEMBERS. 

could  convince  any  girl  who  had  common-sense 
enough  to  make  it  worth  while  to  try  to  save  her, 
that  Mr.  Arson  is  an  utterly  rotten  hearted  young 
man." 

"I  must  talk  with  you  further,"  said  Mrs. 
Holmes  anxiously;  "I  may  need  your  help, 
though  I  hardly  know  how  to  secure  you  a  chance 
to  give  it." 

By  this  time  they  were  in  front  of  the  Hurst 
home  again,  and  Dr.  Portland  was  giving  his  com 
panion  a  parting  charge  after  this  fashion :  "  I 
look  to  you  to  see  that  my  patient  is  not  over 
strained  in  any  direction  to-day.  She  is  morbid 
and  needs  soothing ;  remember  that  cheerfulness, 
and  a  removal  as  far  as  possible,  of  all  sources  of 
disquietude  are  very  important  in  her  case." 

Mrs.  Hurst  was  looking  out  of  her  dining-room 
window;  her  sewing  woman,  Miss  Pauline  Skimp- 
son,  being  seated  at  the  sewing  machine  near 
her.  That  young  woman  stayed  the  rattle  of  the 
machine  to  hear  her  employer's  remarks.  "Here 
he  comes  again  !  and  Mrs.  Holmes  with  him ;  I 
knew  he  would  find  some  excuse  for  having  a 
visit  with  her.  The  way  those  two  go  on,  mak 
ing  a  cat's-paw  of  Mad  to  do  it,  is  a  sight  to 
behold  !  Not  a  day  passes  but  they  meet  here,  or 
on  the  street,  or  somewhere,  and  go  sauntering  off 
together ;  or  else  he  takes  her  riding.  I  think  it 
is  simply  disgraceful !  " 


ONE,   LOSES    HIS    IDENTITY.  307 

"Is  she  a  widow?"  questioned  Miss  Skimpson, 
straining  her  eyes  to  get  a  better  view. 

"A  widow!  No;  but  I  suppose  she  thinks  she 
will-be,  before  long.  I'd  try  to  have  decency 
enough  to  wait  until  my  husband  was  buried,  at 
least!  He's  got  consumption,  they  say,  and  she 
leaves  him  to  take  care  of  himself  the  best  way  he 
can,  and  gallivants  off  with  Dr.  Portland.  Lovely 
associates  they  are  for  Mad  !  They  go  on  about 
her  in  a  way  to  make  one  sick,  just  for  the  sake 
of  having  a  meeting-place.  Mad  thinks  they  are 
angels,  of  course ;  girls  of  her  stamp  are  always 
fools,  and  don't  know  when  they  are  being  used 
simply  as  blinds.  I  tell  Mr.  Hurst  that  I  have 
had  about  enough  of  it.  We  are  used  to  being 
decent,  if  we  haven't  as  much  money  as  some." 

You  are  not  to  suppose,  from  this,  and  certain 
other  exhibitions  of  character,  that  Mrs.  Hurst 
was  the  embodiment  of  all  evil.  On  the  contrary 
she  had  some  admirable  qualities.  In  the  church 
to  which  she  belonged  she  was  considered  in  her 
line  a  most  estimable  woman  ;  nobody  could  work 
harder  than  she,  in  getting  up  church  fairs,  sup 
pers,  sociables  and  what  not  ?  Even  scrubbing, 
and  that  which  seems  to  some  women  more  hate 
ful  work  still  —  dish-washing,  could  be  heroically 
accomplished  by  this  small  woman  whenever  it 
was  for  the  benefit  of  the  church  ;  and  as  for  cake, 
she  was  simply  in  her  element  when  managing 


308  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

that.  It  was  said  of  her  by  one  enthusiastic 
young  woman  that  she  could  make  an  angel  cake 
which  was  "perfectly  heavenly."  And  a  sullen, 
sour-visaged  man  who  had  come  into  unpleasant 
contact  with  her,  was  heard  to  remark  that  it 
must  be  because  she  was  a  fallen  angel,  and  had 
lost  all  traces  of  the  angelic,  save  that  which  had 
to  do  with  cake !  Nevertheless,  as  I  say,  Mrs. 
Hurst  had  her  circle  of  friends,  and  was  in  some 
respects  a  well-meaning  woman.  That  she  did 
not  like  to  work  at  home,  that  she  did  eagerly 
long  to  keep  up  appearances  in  society  beyond 
her  means,  that  she  took  unreasoning  and  violent 
prejudices  against  certain  persons,  and  could  see 
no  good  in  any  thing  they  might  say  or  do,  and 
that  she  was  painfully  careless  in  the  use  of  her 
tongue,  were  faults  which  those  who  knew  her 
well,  sneered  at,  or  sighed  over,  according  to 
their  several  dispositions.  Very  often  there  was 
no  "malice  aforethought"  in  her  careless  words. 
For  instance,  she  had  by  no  means  planned  to 
make  the  astounding  statements  against  Mrs. 
Holmes  and  Dr.  Portland  which  I  have  repeated. 
She  simply  disliked  them  both ;  chiefly  because 
she  fancied  that  they  held  themselves  above  her, 
and  chose  to  patronize  her  sister-in-law.  The 
sight  of  them  together  suggested  the  thought 
that  she  had  seen  them  often  together  at  her 
house,  and  although  no  one  knew  better  than 


ONE,   LOSES    HIS    IDENTITY.  309 

she,  the  occasion  which  had  called  them,  and  the 
imperative  need  for  their  presence,  given  such 
a  woman  as  Mrs.  Hurst,  and  the  inference  she 
imagined  herself  drawing,  was  to  be  expected. 
Perhaps  it  was  well  for  her  that  not  one  of  the 
persons  interested  suspected  for  a  moment  that 
such  thoughts  were  being  evolved.  Even  Made 
line,  who  knew  her  brother's  wife  well,  or  thought 
she  did,  had  no  conception  of  such  a  train  of 
thought  as  this. 

Dr.  Portland  having  left  his  charge,  drove  to 
the  stables  where  his  horses  were  kept  and  left 
them.  He  had  other  calls  to  make,  but  they 
were  not  imperative,  and  for  some  reason  which 
he  could  not  have  defined,  he  felt  that  the  soli 
tude  of  his  own  room  was  necessary  to  him  for  a 
time.  He  seemed  to  himself  to  have  received  a 
shock  which  somehow  disturbed  the  foundations 
of  his  unbelief,  if  those  terms  may  be  used 
together.  Down  deep  in  his  heart  were  other 
questions,  also  taking  vague  form  and  apparently 
trying  to  reach  the  surface  and  disturb  him.  He 
dimly  felt  that  some  time,  perhaps  in  the  near 
future,  there  were  matters  which  he  must  squarely 
face  and  settle.  To-day  he  wanted  rather  to  get 
away  from  them,  and  could  not  trust  himself  to 
drive  along  the  quiet  roads  and  think.  He  would 
read,  he  would  study,  he  would  write;  in  some 
way,  for  a  time  at  least  he  would  get  rid  of  him- 


3IO  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

self.  He  did  none  of  the  things  thus  planned. 
Seated  in  the  outer  office  waiting  for  him  was  a 
middle-aged  man,  clean  shaven,  decently  dressed, 
with  his  gray  hair  combed  carefully  back,  reveal 
ing  a  forehead  which  suggested  a  different  type  of 
face  from  what  those  who  had  seen  him  when  the 
unkempt  hair  lay  heavy  upon  it,  had  imagined. 
He  arose  respectfully  on  the  doctor's  entrance, 
and  waited,  while  that  gentleman  bowed  as  to  a 
stranger,  and  stared,  and  at  last  spoke. 

"Joe,  upon  my  word!  At  first  I  did  not  know 
you.  Why,  man,  if  a  clean  shave  and  a  clean 
collar  make  such  a  difference  to  everybody,  I 
wonder  why  in  the  name  of  sense  haven't  you 
tried  such  simple  experiments  before  ?  People 
who  do  not  observe  closely  would  never  dream 
that  you  were  old  Joe  Carpenter." 

The  old  man  shook  his  head  with  a  grave  smile 
on  his  face. 

"I  ain't,"  he  said  simply.  "They'd  be  right; 
I  ain't  old  Joe  Carpenter  any  more.  That  is,  I 
ain't  and  I  am.  I  don't  understand  it  any  more 
than  you  do ;  and  as  for  being  surprised  you  can't 
begin  to  have  as  much  of  that  feeling  as  I  have. 
Wait  till  you've  lived  with  yourself  for  nigh  on  to 
fifty  years,  and  been  well  acquainted  all  that  time, 
and  suddenly  find  out  that  while  you've  got  the 
same  hair  and  eyes  and  all  them  things  left,  the 
part  that  is  you  yourself,  and  has  been  for  as  long 


ONE,    LOSES    HIS    IDENTITY.  31  1 

as  you  can  remember,  is  gone !  Then  you'll  know 
what  it  means  to  be  astonished." 

There  was  not  the  slightest  attempt  at  fun  in 
Joe's  manner ;  on  the  contrary,  he  was  perfectly 
grave  and  thoughtful.  It  was  evident  that  he  had 
passed  through  some  experience  which  had  aston 
ished  and  bewildered  himself.  The  doctor  waited 
curiously,  extremely  uncertain  what  to  say  next, 
and  old  Joe  after  a  moment's  silence  continued 
respectfully  :  "  I  ask  your  pardon,  doctor,  for  wait 
ing  here  for  you;  I  ain't  no  errand  —  that  is, 
nobody  is  sick ;  but  I  felt  as  though  I  wanted  to 
tell  you  that  you  was  right,  exactly  right.  It  all 
come  to  pass,  and  more !  It  is  a  great  deal  more 
than  you  made  me  understand,  though  I  suppose 
that  is  because  I  was  dumb,  and  you  likely  knew 
what  you  were  talking  about." 

"Sit  down,"  said  Dr.  Portland,  "and  explain 
your  riddle.  I  am  the  one  who  is  dumb  now ;  I 
don't  in  the  least  know  what  you  are  talking 
about.  Have  you  been  mesmerized,  or  what  is 
the  matter  ?  " 

"  I  don't  exactly  know  the  name  to  call  it  by, 
doctor,  and  I  don't  know  as  I  ever  could  explain 
it,  anyhow ;  it  is  enough  for  me  to  feel  it ;  but  I 
allowed  that  you  would  understand.  You  told 
me,  you  remember,  about  that  Power  which  could 
get  hold  of  even  a  poor  shack  like  me,  and  make 
me  over,  so  that  the  things  I  hankered  after  once, 


312  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

I  wouldn't  even  want.  That  wasn't  your  way  of 
putting  it,  you  know,  but  I  figured  that  out  of  it ; 
especially  when  you  reminded  me  of  my  mother, 
and  the  way  she  used  to  talk  and  think.  It  got 
hold  of  me  that  day  like  something  I  hadn't  heard 
since  mother  used  to  pray,  in  the  old  kitchen, 
with  me  kneeling  down  just  across  from  her  and 
wishing  she  would  get  through.  She's  been  long 
gone,  doctor,  but  I  kind  of  felt  that  day,  as 
though  she  hadn't  got  through  yet;  as  though 
them  prayers  was  following  me,  and  saying  over 
to  me  what  you  had  just  said!  Well,  I  can't 
tell  it,  only  I've  proved  it,  doctor,  and  it  holds 
good.  He  got  hold  of  me;  I  don't  know  how;  I 
don't  know  how  He  came  to  think  it  was  worth 
while,  but  He  just  took  and  did  it,  and  here  I 
am  ! " 

The  look  of  half-amused  half-amazed  incredulity 
upon  the  doctor's  face  would  have  made  a  study 
for  an  artist.  "So  I  perceive,"  he  said  in 
response  to  Joe's  last  words;  "but  the  question 
is,  what  do  you  mean  ?  Am  I  to  understand 
that  you  have  reformed  —  given  up  drinking?" 

"It  has  given  me  up,"  said  Joe  with  infinite 
gravity.  "I  didn't  do  it ;  I  could  no  more  give  it 
up  than  I  could  lay  clown  this  arm  of  mine  on 
your  table  and  go  off  and  leave  it  here.  I  tried 
that  time  and  again,  just  as  I  told  you;  but  when 
He  got  a  hold  of  me  it  was  another  thing !  Don't 


ONE,    LOSES    HIS    IDENTITY.  313 

ask  me  to  explain  it,  because  I  can't  do  it;  I  don't 
know  nothing  about  the  way,  or  the  how,  or  any 
of  them  things ;  all  I  know  is  that  I  went  home 
that  evening  after  you  took  me  the  ride,  and  I 
went  out  to  the  shed  where  we  keep  our  wood 
and  things,  and  I  got  down  on  my  knees,  and  says 
I :  "  Here  I  be,  Lord ;  I  don't  know  how  to  pray  ; 
I  didn't  learn  how  when  mother  wanted  me  to, 
down  in  her  kitchen  nigh  onto  forty  years  ago; 
and  I'm  a  drunkard ;  they've  called  me  that  for 
maybe  a  dozen  years  now ;  I  never  let  on  that  I 
know  it,  but  I  do;  and  I  can't  stop  drinking,  any 
more  than  I  can  fly  over  the  steeple;  I've  tried 
it  oftener  than  any  of  'em  think,  and  I  know ; 
and  I've  heard  them  that  knows,  say  so.  'It  is 
a  physical  impossibility  for  that  fellow  to  stop,' 
says  old  Dr.  Parsons,  once;  'he's  diseased  his 
will-power  so  that  he  can't  do  it.'  I  heard 
him  speak  them  very  words,  and  I  believe  them, 
because  I've  tried  it ;  but  says  I,  here's  another 
doctor  who  has  been  talking  to  me  to-day,  and  he 
believes  the  same  thing,  but  he  believes  some 
thing  else,  and  so  did  his  mother,  and  so  did 
mine ;  he  believes  that  you've  got  a  kind  of  a 
power  by  which  you  can  get  a  hold  of  worthless 
shacks  like  me,  and  turn  us  around  so  that  we 
will  hate  the  things  we  like  now.  Says  I,  'if  I 
could  hate  whiskey,  there'd  be  some  hope  of  me 
maybe;  but  I  don't  and  I  can't,  Now  if  you  will 


3  14  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

take  a  hold  of  this  and  help  me  out,  there  ain't 
any  thing  I  wouldn't  be  willing  to  do  the  rest  of 
my  life  to  show  how  grateful  I  be.'  That  was 
about  it,  doctor,  something  like  that,  you  know. 
Well,  sir,  He  did  it !  Don't  ask  me  how.  Things 
wasn't  any  different  that  night,  so  far  as  I  know. 
I  stayed  around  the  house  a  spell,  and  got  some 
supper  and  went  to  bed  early ;  I  had  no  kind  of 
a  notion  of  any  thing  having  happened.  I  didn't 
say  a  word  to  Mis'  Carpenter  about  not  drinking 
any  more;  I'd  told  her  so  a  hundred  times,  and 
she  didn't  believe  it,  and  I  didn't  blame  her  a 
mite  for  it,  either.  It  wasn't  possible,  you  see, 
for  anybody  to  believe  it,  the  facts  contradicted 
it ;  well,  all  I  knew  this  time  was,  that  I  meant  to 
do  my  share ;  it  is  an  everlasting  little  mean 
share,  says  I  to  myself,  and  it  don't  amount  to 
shucks  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  for  I've  tried  it ; 
but  maybe  it  will  amount  to  something  with  Him ; 
because,  if  he  knows  everything,  He  knows  what 
a  worthless  old  hulk,  and  'physical  impossibility' 
I  am ;  and  perhaps  all  that  he  asks  is  my  mis 
erable  little  best  and  not  somebody  else's  that 
hasn't  spoiled  their  chance.  And  I  stuck  to  that 
notion.  It  was  there  when  I  woke  up  in  the 
morning,  and  it  went  off  down  street  with  me, 
past  eleven  saloons ;  yes,  sir,  past  'em,  and  I  had 
a  nickel  in  my  pocket  too !  It  wa'n't  will,  because 
all  the  will  I  had  was  to  do  my  sneaking  little 


ONE,    LOSES    HIS    IDENTITY.  315 

best,  and  I  knew  what  that  would  amount  to  if  it 
was  left  to  itself;  but  it  wasn't  left !  " 

No  description  on  paper  will  give  you  an  idea 
of  Joe's  impressiveness  as  he  reached  this  point 
in  his  story. 

"No,  sir,  it  wasn't  left!  I  hadn't  any  hanker 
ing  after  them  eleven  saloons !  I  don't  know 
why!  I  don't  understand  it;  He  does,  and  I'm 
thankful  enough  to  let  Him  manage;  and  I  just 
come  in  to  tell  you  you  were  right,  and  no 
mistake." 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

ONE     "RE-ENLISTS." 

WHAT  possible  reply  was  there  for  a  man 
like  Dr.  Portland  to  make?  That  the 
Joe  Carpenter  who  sat  before  him  was  entirely 
unlike  any  Joe  Carpenter  of  his  previous  acquaint 
ance  was  evident.  That  the  mere  letting  alone  of 
intoxicating  liquors  for  the  space  of  three  weeks 
could  work  such  a  change  seemed  improbable ; 
that  there  was  a  mysterious  change  possible  to 
human  beings  which  the  superstitious  called  "con 
version,"  this  doctor  did  not  believe;  that  Joe 
Carpenter  had  force  of  will  enough  to  carry  him 
through  such  a  physical  crisis  as  would  be  neces 
sary  to  him  in  attempting  to  give  up  the  use  of 
liquors,  he  also  did  not  believe.  I  hope  you  see 
where  his  logic  carried  him.  In  order  to  adhere 
to  his  preconceived  notions,  was  it  going  to  be 
necessary  to  deny  the  evidence  of  his  eyes  and 
ears  ? 

"  So  you  think,  Joe,  that  the  struggle  is  over, 
arid  that   you   can   go   where  you   please   and   do 


ONE    RE-ENLISTS.  31? 

what  you  please  and  be  all  right,  now  that  some 
mysterious  power  has  gotten  hold  of  you.  Is  that 
it  ?  " 

Joe  looked  gravely  surprised,  and  somewhat 
disappointed. 

"Why,  no,"  he  said,  "that  ain't  it  at  all;  I  told 
you  I  couldn't  explain,  though  being  you  started 
me,  I  thought  maybe  you  would  understand.  I 
promised,  you  see,  to  do  my  weak  little  best ;  and 
my  best  of  course  will  be  to  keep  out  of  the  way 
of  'em,  and  let  'em  alone  if  I  can.  The  trouble 
has  always  been,  before,  that  I  couldn't ;  not  that 
I  didn't  mean  to;  and  I  don't  know  what  He  did 
to  me  to  make  me  able  to  do  it,  but  now  I  can ; 
or  He  can,  it  ain't  me  ;  it  is  something  that  has 
got  hold  of  me  and  ain't  going  to  let  go  again  ; 
that's  what  I  believe.  You  understand  it,  don't 
you  ?  You  are  one  of  them  kind,  ain't  you  ?  " 

It  is  impossible  to  convey  to  you  the  depth  of 
wistfulness  in  Joe's  voice.  Dr.  Portland  actually 
winced  under  it ;  for  the  second  time  that  day 
must  he  disappoint  a  friend  by  owning  to  the 
poverty  of  his  own  nature  ? 

Joe  was  waiting  anxiously  for  his  answer ;  and 
with  those  earnest  eyes  looking  into  his,  he  could 
not  decide  how  to  evade  the  question. 

"What  'kind'  do  you  mean?"  he  asked  with  a 
half  laugh ;  "  I  have  not  a  very  well-defined  knowl 
edge  of  my  own  beliefs,  I  am  afraid." 


3l8  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

Joe  was  not  to  be  so  easily  turned  aside  from 
his  purpose.  "  I  mean  one  of  the  kind  that  my 
mother  was,  and  your  mother ;  and  that  woman 
you  told  me  about  at  Stetson's.  You  belong  to 
'em,  don't  you?" 

"I  can  not  lay  claim  to  the  sort  of  relationship 
which  you  demand,  Joe;  though  there  is  a  sense 
in  which  I  trust  I  belong  to  them." 

"Well,  now,  I  am  beat!"  declared  Joe,  per 
plexed  and  grave.  "You  see  after  I  come  to 
know  that  the  thing  was  true,  I  says  to  myself, 
'scholars  and  them  kind  have  known  this  all  the 
while,  and  have  lived  by  it ;  it  is  only  poor  fools 
like  old  Joe  the  drunkard  that  have  thrown  away 
such  splendid  chances.'  And  I  thought  sure  you 
was  one  of  'em.  Why,  how  come  you  to  start  me, 
if  you  ain't  ?" 

Dr.  Portland's  advantages  as  a  Bible  student  in 
his  youth  had  been  good  ;  there  were  verses  which 
often  trooped  about  him,  arresting  his  thought 
whether  he  would  or  not ;  for  the  moment  it  was 
as  if  he  were  back  in  the  old  weather-beaten 
school-house  where  the  Sabbath  School  of  his 
childhood  gathered,  and  saw  himself  rattling  glibly 
off  to  the  great  comfort  of  his  teacher,  this  verse 
among  others :  "  Lest  that  by  any  means  when  I 
have  preached  to  others,  I  myself  should  be  a 
castaway." 

"  Have  you  told  anyone  of  this  experience?" 


ONE    RE-ENLISTS.  3IQ 

asked  the  doctor,  ignoring  the  question,  and  look 
ing  curiously  at  his  guest,  as  he  wondered  how 
others  accounted  for  the  strange  change  in  him. 

"Not  yet,  doctor  —  only  Mis'  Carpenter,  of 
course  ;  and  she  don't  believe  in  it ;  I  don't  blame 
her  a  mite;  she's  had  experience  with  me,  you 
see.  But  the  way  to  do  is  to  tell  it,  I  know  that. 
There's  a  prayer-meeting  at  the  church  to-night, 
and  I've  about  made  up  my  mind  to  go.  I  dunno 
as  I  shall  say  anything,  I  dunno  as  it  would  be 
proper;  what  do  you  think?"  He  stopped  and 
eyed  his  listener  anxiously.  The  doctor  laughed  ; 
this  interview  certainly  had  the  ludicrous  side. 

"  I  do  not  know,  I  am  sure,"  he  said,  "I  am  not 
posted  in  regard  to  such  matters ;  but  I  should 
imagine  that  a  prayer-meeting  would  be  an 
exceedingly  proper  place  for  such  a  story  as  you 
have  been  telling  me." 

"Oh,  I  won't  say  all  that!"  said  Joe,  hastily, 
"I  couldn't,  you  know;  standing  up,  and  different 
folks  listening  !  But  I  thought  maybe  I  ought  to 
stand  up,  and  say  'the  Lord  has  found  me,'  or 
something  like  that.  I  remember  they  used  to 
have  such  meetings  when  I  was  a  boy  and  men 
and  women  and  children  talked ;  do  they  do  that 
way  now  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  a  competent  witness,  remember ; 
still  I  have  the  impression  that  it  is  considered 
proper  for  people  who  have  such  messages,  to 


32O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

give  them ;  I  would  by  all  means  do  so,  if  I  were 
you;  it  strikes  me  that  it  is  a  surprising  story." 

"Isn't  it,  now?"  said  Joe,  eagerly,  "to  think  of 
such  a  thing  coming  to  me,  old  Joe  Carpenter  the 
drunkard !  I  don't  wonder  at  your  being  sur 
prised ;  you  can't  be  more  so  than  I  am." 

Dr.  Portland's  surprise  was  increasing  every 
minute.  Altogether  the  day  was  a  marked  one  in 
his  life.  To  be  interviewed  twice  in  one  day, 
upon  a  subject  of  which  he  was  perfectly  igno 
rant,  and  to  have  to  admit  his  ignorance,  to  the 
astonishment  and  pain  of  both  questioners,  was 
certainly  a  strange  experience. 

As  he  walked  slowly  toward  his  boarding  house, 
thinking  it  all  over,  the  conversation  which  had 
been  held  some  weeks  before  in  Mrs.  Holmes' 
rooms,  returned  to  him.  He  had  himself  declared 
that  Mrs.  Holmes  would  have  to  get  hold  of  old 
Joe  and  reform  him,  in  order  to  save  his  wife.  He 
remembered  with  what  gravity  both  Mrs.  Holmes 
and  her  husband  had  received  this  attempt  at  a 
joke,  and  how  sure  they  seemed  to  be  that  such 
an  absurdity  was  possible;  and  here  it  was,  appar 
ently  accomplished !  An  amazing  feature  of  the 
miracle  was,  that  he  seemed  to  have  "begun  it," 
as  Joe  said. 

What  a  thing  it  would  be  to  see  the  old  man 
in  that  prayer-meeting !  Certainly  there  would  be 
a  sensation  when  they  saw  him,  even  though  he 


ONE  RE-ENLISTS.  321 

Said  not  a  word.  "  Mrs.  Holmes  ought  to  be  pres 
ent,"  the  doctor  told  himself,  "it  would  be  too  bad 
to  have  her  lose  the  first  sight."  He  knew  that 
she  did  not  attend  the  evening  meetings;  at  first 
she  had  been  unable  to  leave  her  husband,  and 
now  that  he  was  rapidly  convalescing  there  was 
no  one  to  accompany  her.  "She  ought  to  go 
to-night,"  declared  the  doctor,  "what  if  I  should 
complete  the  day's  wonders  and  take  her  down? 
Joe  and  I  together  in  a  prayer-meeting  ought  to 
afford  excitement  enough  to  keep  this  town  in  a 
whirl  for  the  next  six  weeks!  I'll  offer,  at  least; 
and  I'll  not  give  her  the  real  reason  for  my  disin 
terestedness,  either ;  I  want  to  see  her  face  during 
the  first  surprise ;  she  can  not  have  heard  of  Joe's 
transformation  or  she  would  have  mentioned  it." 

The  more  he  thought  about  it,  the  more  fasci 
nated  he  became  with  his  scheme,  and  the  hour 
appointed  for  prayer-meeting  found  him  really 
pressing  his  services  upon  Mrs.  Holmes. 

"  I  will  take  you  down  with  pleasure  if  you 
would  like  to  go,  the  evening  is  charming  for  a 
walk  ;  besides,  I  don't  mind  telling  you  that  I 
know  of  something  going  on  there  to-night  which 
will  interest  you  greatly." 

"I  do  not  doubt  that,"  Mrs.  Holmes  said  with 
a  quiet  smile;  "it  is  a  long  time  since  I  have 
attended  a  prayer-meeting  where  there  was  not 
that  going  on  which  interested  me  greatly." 


322  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"  Ah !  but  I  mean  something  special ;  urge  her 
to  go,  Holmes,  it  will  do  her  good ;  she  will 
regret  it  afterward  if  she  is  not  there  to-night." 

"  I  will  go,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  "  I  do  not  need 
urging.  Thank  you  for  the  opportunity;  I  was 
trying  to  plan,  this  morning,  to  secure  an  escort. 
I  thought  of  Liph  and  Happy,  but  not  once  of 
you,  doctor." 

"  Shows  how  my  disinterested  efforts  at  part 
nership  are  appreciated,"  said  the  doctor,  good- 
humoredly ;  he  was  not  prepared  for  her  reply. 

"  I  do  appreciate  you,  doctor ;  I  can  hardly  tell 
you  how  much  I  thank  you  for  coming  for  me  this 
afternoon.  I  would  not  for  a  great  deal  have 
missed  the  opportunity  of  seeing  and  helping 
Madeline  just  at  the  important  moment  of  her  life. 
Do  you  know  it  marked  a  crisis  with  her  more 
important  than  the  one  she  passed  that  night  when 
we  both  watched  over  her?" 

"  I  knew  that  she  was  very  nervous,  and  that 
she  and  I  both  thought  you  might  be  able  to 
soothe  her." 

Mrs.  Holmes  smiled.  "She  has  discovered  a 
better  Helper  than  I,"  she  said,  "One  who  will 
see  to  it  that  she  is  soothed  by  His  own  strong 
and  tender  power  hereafter,  I  trust  and  believe. 
Poor  Madeline  has  been  wandering  over  weary 
places  for  years,  and  has  but  just  reached 
home." 


ONE    RE-ENLISTS.  323 

Dr.  Portland  was  silent;  so  much  of  the  talk 
during  this  strange  day,  had  been  upon  things 
which  he  could  not  understand !  During  the 
walk  to  church  he  took  the  lead  in  conversation, 
taking  care  to  hold  his  companion  closely  to  top 
ics  upon  which  he  could  lead.  She  seemed  sur 
prised  that  he  did  not  make  a  movement  to  leave 
her  at  the  church  door. 

"Are  you  going  in?"  she  asked. 

"  Why,  certainly ;  you  did  not  suppose  that 
I  intended  you  to  walk  home  alone,  I  trust?  I 
confess  that  I  am  on  strange  ground,  but  I 
will  endeavor  to  conduct  myself  with  becoming 
decorum." 

It  was  a  pleasant  room  ;  too  large  it  is  true,  to 
suggest  any  idea  of  a  family  gathering,  but  that 
is  a  fault  which  must  be  endured  wherever  the 
main  audience  room  of  a  good-sized  church  serves 
also  as  the  gathering-place  for  the  mid-week 
prayer-meeting.  A  goodly  number  of  people 
were  present,  and  to  Mrs.  Holmes  the  service 
was  restful  and  refreshing.  She  was  so  entirely 
a  stranger  as  to  be  unaware  of  the  special  inter 
est  which  herself  and  her  companion  and  one 
other  person  were  creating.  The  quiet  figure  of 
a  decently-dressed,  middle-aged  man  sitting  in  an 
obscure  corner  near  one  of  the  doors  failed  to 
attract  her  attention  ;  it  was  only  when,  in  one 
of  the  pauses  of  the  meeting,  he  arose  and  began 


324  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

to  speak,   that   she  became   aware    of    something 
quite  out  of  the  usual  order  of  exercises. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "and  ladies,  too,  I  don't 
know  how  to  talk  in  a  meeting,  but  yet  I  feel  that 
I  want  to  tell  you  something.  You  have  been 
talking  here  to-night  about  Jesus,  the  Saviour, 
and  I  do  certainly  know  Him  ;  He  found  me  out 
and  spoke  a  word  of  power  to  me  three  weeks 
ago ;  I  feel  in  my  heart  it  will  last  forever ;  and 
I  can't  help  feeling  that  I  ought  to  get  up  and 
tell  these  friends  about  it.  It  is  a  great  thing  to 
be  able  to  save  any  body  so  low  down  as  old  Joe 
Carpenter  the  drunkard,  and  that  is  what  He  has 
done!  I  don't  know  how  to  work  for  Him,  but 
I  want  to  learn,  and  I  want  to  ask  you  all  to  show 
me  how." 

Some  minutes  before  Joe  sat  down,  Mrs. 
Holmes,  whose  face  had  at  first  expressed  only 
keen  interest  and  sympathy,  changed  to  bewilder 
ment,  and  her  eyes  finally  sought  the  doctor  with 
such  an  eager  question  in  them  that  he  could  but 
smile  and  silently  incline  his  head  ;  then  he,  too, 
felt  a  swift  rush  of  color  in  his  face,  over  Joe's 
next  words  : 

"And  people,  there's  one  other  thing  I  want  to 
say ;  him  that  set  me  on  the  track  is  here 
to-night.  He  is  a  doctor  for  souls  as  well  as 
bodies." 

"  You  are  indeed  a  partner,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes, 


ONE    RE-ENLISTS.  325 

the  minute  this  wonderful  meeting  was  concluded, 
and  she  held  out  her  hand  to  Dr.  Portland  with  a 
glad  light  in  her  eyes. 

"I  am  a  hypocrite  per  force,"  he  said,  with  an 
embarrassed  laugh ;  "poor  Joe  is  mixed,  in  more 
ways  than  one." 

"Oh,  Joe  Carpenter!"  she  said.  "Isn't  it 
wonderful ! " 

Evidently  Joe  thought  it  was ;  he  looked  about 
him  in  puzzled  wonder  as  men  and  women  gath 
ered  around  him,  holding  out  their  hands,  and 
grasping  his  with  a  warmth  which  was  as  new  to 
him  as  it  was  pleasant. 

"I've  never  had  no  friends,"  he  said,  humbly, 
"not  of  the  kind  to  call  friends,  you  know,  and 
that  ain't  strange,  for  I  ain't  deserved  'em  ;  but 
it  seems  dreadful  nice  to  have  them  !  " 

Life  made  great  strides  with  Mrs.  Holmes  dur 
ing  the  next  few  weeks ;  she  had  been  plunged 
into  the  center  of  eager,  absorbing  work;  instead 
of  sitting  as  she  had  planned,  with  folded  hands 
waiting  for  the  winter  to  pass. 

Madeline  Hurst  had  been  "re-enlisted,"  as  she 
termed  it.  "I  was  a  deserter,"  she  said,  "and 
deserved  only  punishment ;  but  I  have  a  wonder 
ful  Saviour." 

The  girl  was  no  passive  Christian  ;  she  brought 
to  her  new  life  all  the  force  of  her  intense  nature, 


326  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

"  I  have  done  a  great  deal  of  harm,"  she  said  to 
Mrs.  Holmes;  "I  wish  I  might  undo  some  of  it." 

She  gained  rapidly  in  health  and  strength  from 
the  day  that  her  decision  was  made.  Dr.  Port 
land  looked  on  at  the  change,  with  the  air  of  one 
who  was  gratified,  but  puzzled.  Other  changes 
as  marked  in  their  way  as  hers,  were  in  progress. 
Mrs.  Holmes  had  not  been  surprised  over  Made 
line's  decision  ;  she  had  prayed  for  it,  worked  for 
it,  looked  for  it  to  come  ;  but  Hepzibah  Smithers 
was  another  person !  Yes,  she  had  prayed  for  her 
earnestly,  and  had  done  what  she  could  to  further 
her  own  prayers ;  but  she  discovered  that  her 
faith  had  only  been  equal  to  hoping  that  some 
time,  after  long  and  patient  effort  and  teaching, 
the  girl  might  understand  enough  to  lay  hold 
upon  eternal  life.  That  she  would  actually  grasp 
at  the  thought  conveyed  in  that  first  marked 
verse,  and  hold  on  to  it  and  deliberately  make  the 
decision  on  which  her  eternal  future  hung,  was 
entirely  beyond  the  reach  of  this  woman's  hopes. 
Yet,  as  the  days  went  by,  it  became  increasingly 
evident  that  a  marvelous  change  had  come  to 
Happy.  Everybody  in  the  house  noticed  and 
commented  on  it,  after  their  various  fashions. 
Not  that  it  made  itself  apparent  in  words ; 
instead,  Happy  was  quieter  than  she  had  ever 
been ;  perhaps  its  most  marked  exhibition  was 
her  evident  painstaking  care  for  the  comfort  of 


ONE    RE-ENLISTS. 

others ;  her  earnest  solicitude  to  do  every  thing 
which  came  within  her  line  of  work,  as  carefully 
and  as  swiftly  as  she  could. 

"I  have  to  wash  out  the  dish-towels  now,"  she 
said  to  Mrs.  Holmes,  one  day  with  a  smile,  "I 
used  to  hate  to  do  it,  and  I  got  rid  of  it  whenever 
I  could  ;  and  Mis'  Stetson  said  they  wasn't  fit  to 
handle  with  the  tongs ;  but  now  I  have  to  make 
them  as  clean  as  soap-suds  and  water  will  do  it, 
because  I'm  doing  it  for  the  'glory  of  God.' 
Ain't  that  queer,  though,  that  I  can  do  such  work 
for  Him  !  I  didn't  believe  it  when  you  first  told 
me,  but  it  is  true;  and  another  thing,  Mis' 
Holmes,  I  used  to  think  it  wasn't  worth  while  to 
be  so  dreadful  particular,  but  I  kind  of  like  to  be, 
now;  I  like  clean  things,  and  I  like  to  rub  'em, 
and  make  'em  clean." 

Was  even  this  a  homely  illustration  of  the  law 
that  "human  beings  grow  like  the  object  which 
they  worship"?  Was  Happy  learning  to  like 
purity,  even  in  material  things,  because  she  had 
caught  a  glimpse  of  infinite  purity  ? 

Certainly  Happy  was  becoming  a  blessing  in 
the  Stetson  boarding-house. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THEY    ARE    LED    BY  .UNSEEN    PATHS. 

THERE  came  another  joyous  surprise  to  Mrs. 
Holmes.      She  was  called  to  the  parlor  one 
day  to   see   a    "nice-looking   young  fellow";    this 
was  Happy's  description  of  him. 

At  the  first  moment  she  did  not  recognize  him, 
and  he,  on  his  part  seemed  lost  in  amazement  and 
stood  staring  at  her;  but  his  face  broke  into  a 
smile  as  at  last  she  exclaimed,  "Why,  it  is  Joe 
Trueman ! " 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "and  you  are  Miss  Chrissy  — 
or,  no,  I   beg  your  pardon,  you  are  Mrs.  Holmes, 
aren't  you  ?     They  told  me  it  was  a  Mrs.  Holmes, 
but  I  never  thought  of  its  being  you !     I  did  not 
know  you  were  in  this  part  of  the  world." 

At  last,  after  a  long,  eager  talk  about  old 
friends,  Joe  came  back  to  business.  He  was 
living  in  Markham,  and  they  had  organized  a 
Christian  Endeavor  Society,  and  felt  that  the  first 
important  work  to  be  done  was  to  have  a  Reading 
328 


THEY  ARE  LED  BY  UNSEEN  PATHS.     329 

Room.  The  trouble  had  been  in  securing  a  room  ; 
there  was  only  one  building  suitable,  and  that, 
though  closed  and  idle,  had  been  leased  by  a  Mrs. 
Holmes  for  six  months.  Part  of  Joe's  errand  to 
this  city  was  to  look  up  Mrs.  Holmes  and  see  if 
he  could  sub-lease  the  room  of  her  for  their  use. 
Here,  then,  was  her  "bread"  which  had  been 
"cast  upon  the  waters"  but  a  little  while  before! 
Only  she  had  not  called  it  bread,  but  wasted 
effort.  That  "giggling  club"  which  had  so 
haunted  her  had  been  caught  at  last ;  some  of  its 
leading  members,  she  found  by  eager  questioning, 
were  ready  and  willing  to  become  active  members 
in  the  new  society. 

"They  told  me  they  had  heard  about  it,"  said 
Joe,  "and  that  Mrs.  Holmes  had  been  anxious  to 
organize  one,  and  that  they  were  ashamed  of  them 
selves.  But  we  have  had  a  revival,  and  things  are 
very  different,  I  think,  from  what  they  were  when 
you  were  there ;  any  way,  we  have  nine  young 
people  who  are  in  earnest ;  arid  we  are  going  to 
try  what  we  can  do." 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  "I  will  give  you  the 
pretty  curtains  I  made  for  the  room.  It  went  to 
my  heart  to  dismantle  it  and  carry  them  away. 
How  glad  I  am  that  I  got  it  all  ready  for  you,  Joe ! 
But  I  had  not  the  slightest  hope  it  would  ever  be 
used  for  such  a  purpose." 

"  Isn't   it    strange,"   she    said    to    Stuart,   after 


33O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

describing  the  visitor  and  his  errand;  "father's 
office  boy  at  work  down  here,  and  transforming 
that  giggling  club  into  a  Christian  Endeavor 
Society !  Who  would  have  supposed  that  such  a 
thing  could  happen  !  And  our  room  will  be  used, 
after  all,  for  the  purpose  to  which  we  dedicated  it. 
Life  is  full  of  fascinations,  Stuart." 

They  went  one  afternoon,  she  and  Stuart,  to 
call  on  the  Carpenters ;  it  was  her  husband's  first 
call.  The  room  was  as  neat  as  ever,  and  Mrs. 
Carpenter  looked  not  a  whit  less  grim  ;  but  the 
man  who  sat  in  neat  dress  by  the  open  window 
trying  to  read,  in  the  fading  light,  was  as  unlike 
as  possible  to  the  creature  who  had  lounged  in 
with  his  pipe,  on  Mrs.  Holmes'  first  visit. 

He  welcomed  his  callers  with  the  air  of  a 
gentleman. 

"  I  was  trying  to  make  out  the  verses  we  are  to 
talk  about  in  meeting  to-night,"  he  explained. 
"I've  just  come  in  from  my  work,  and  was  look 
ing  them  over  and  thinking  about  them  a  bit." 

"Oh,  yes"  —in  answer  to  Mr.  Holmes'  ques 
tion;  "I've  got  steady  work,  and  plenty  of  it.  I 
used  to  be  a  good  workman,  folks  said,  and  I'm 
getting  back  my  skill  a  bit,  I  think.  You  find  us 
in  poor  quarters,  sir,  and  that  is  my  fault  and 
nobody's  else ;  but  we'll  get  into  a  better  place 
soon.  I  think  by  the  time  our  month  is  up  here, 
we  can  move.  Mis'  Carpenter  don't  believe 


THEY  ARE  LED  BY  UNSEEN  PATHS.     33! 

that,"  he  said  wistfully,  following  her  with  his 
eyes,  as  her  face  broke  into  that  mocking  smile 
which  Mrs.  Holmes  knew  so  well.  She  was  folding 
clothes  and  placing  them  neatly  in  a  basket ;  when 
she  had  finished,  she  unceremoniously  left  the 
room. 

Her  husband's  gaze  followed  her,  still  with  that 
wistful  look. 

"I  don't  blame  her  a  mite,"  he  said,  "it  ain't 
strange  that  she  thinks  I  won't  hold  out ;  I  never 
have,  you  see,  and  she  doesn't  know  Him,  and 
can't  be  expected  to  understand  how  different  it 
is.  If  she  only  knew  Him,  Mr.  Holmes,  I  might 
be  able  to  make  her  happy  yet." 

"She  will  come  to  know  Him,  brother,"  said 
Mr.  Holmes,  confidently,  "the  Lord  will  let  you 
reflect  His  image  to  such  a  degree  that  she  can 
not  help  but  know  Him.  I  believe  that  is  to  be 
your  work." 

Then  Joe  Carpenter's  face  became  radiant. 

"Do  you  think  so?"  he  asked.  "God  bless 
you  for  saying  it.  I  believe  I  pray  that  prayer 
every  blessed  waking  minute ;  that,  and  the 
prayer  for  the  doctor.  He  started  me,  Mr. 
Holmes,  and  I  can't  have  him  left  out." 

"Isn't  it  disappointing,"  said  Mr.  Holmes  as 
they  went  down  the  walk  together,  "that  he  can 
not  have  a  wife  now  who  would  be  a  help  to 
him?" 


332  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"Do  you  think  it  will  be  possible  for  him  to 
win  her  ? "  his  wife  asked  ;  "you  see  the  trouble  is 
she  never  loved  him ;  if  she  had,  her  joy  now 
would  be  almost  too  great ;  but  as  it  is  " 

"It  is  a  sad  case,"  said  Mr.  Holmes,  "a  sol 
emn  comment  on  the  sin  of  making  a  marriage  for 
any  reason  save  the  sacred  one  which  God 
intended.  But  I  can  not  feel  that  her  life,  though 
she  has  herself  imperiled  it,  will  be  allow.ed  to  be 
all  wasted.  'God  is  very  good,'  as  Madeline  is 
fond  of  saying." 

"Did  you  notice  how  neat  every  thing  looked?" 
asked  Mrs.  Holmes.  "  Stuart,  that  scheme  of 
which  you  and  I  were  talking  a  few  weeks  ago, 
would  be  just  the  place  for  Mrs.  Carpenter. 
What  a  comfort  she  would  be  in  it !  She  has  a 
genius  for  housekeeping ;  and  think  how  rapidly 
Happy  would  learn  under  such  tuition  as  she 
could  give ! " 

"And  think  how  unhappy  Mrs.  Stetson  would 
be  without  Happy,  my  dear." 

"I  know  it,"  she  said,  "it  cannot  be  done,  of 
course,  because  we  must  not  desert  poor  Mrs. 
Stetson  ;  though  I  do  not  think  she  will  ever 
know  how  to  manage  a  boarding-house ;  but  she 
must  live,  and  we  must  help  her.  And  we  could 
not  leave  poor  Liph,  either.  Oh,  Stuart,  what  is 
going  to  reach  Liph  !  I  am  afraid  he  grows  daily 
worse," 


THEY  ARE  LED  BY  UNSEEN  PATHS.     333 

"I  do  not  know,"  he  said  with  infinite  gravity, 
"but  I  have  a  feeling  that  something  or  somebody 
will.  Liph  has  been  my  burden  even  since  I  first 
saw  him.  I  have  not  been  directed  to  give  him 
up;  I  am  not  willing  to  do  so." 

"  I  know  such  a  pleasant  house  for  the  experi 
ment,"  Mrs.  Holmes  said,  returning  to  the  subject 
after  a  moment's  silence;  "it  is  down  on  Seventh 
Street  in  a  central  location  ;  a  large,  old-fashioned 
rambling  house  which  could  be  made  so  pleasant 
and  home-like.  How  charmingly  Madeline  and  I 
could  arrange  the  rooms  !  She  has  very  nice 
taste,  and  she  would  be  happy  in  such  a  place. 
But  we  must  not  talk  of  it,  nor  think  of  it,  on 
account  of  Mrs.  Stetson.  It  would  break  her 
heart,  I  am  afraid.  Poor  Madeline!"  The  sen 
tence  closed  with  a  sigh,  as  sentences  referring  to 
Madeline  were  apt  to  do.  Life  was  by  no  means 
rose-color  to  that  young  woman.  Her  sister-in- 
law,  relieved  from  the  terror  which  had  been  upon 
her  over  the  apparent  approach  of  death,  and  pro- 
voked  by  the  daily  increasing  intimacy  between 
Madeline  and  Mrs.  Holmes,  an  intimacy  in  which 
she  almost  of  necessity  had  no  share,  was  doing 
what  she  could  to  plant  thorns  in  the  girl's  path 
way,  and  succeeding  only  too  well.  The  very  self- 
control  which  Madeline  struggled  for  seemed  at 
times  to  add  to  Mrs.  Hurst's  vexation  ;  and  as  the 
former  had  by  no  means  attained  perfection,  the 


334  HEk    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

occasions  were  frequent  in  which  the  self-control 
was  utterly  lost  and  she  spoke  words  which  sent 
her  afterward  to  her  room  in  a  perfect  abandon 
of  shame  and  grief.  As  the  days  passed,  an 
added  source  of  trouble  was  laid  before  the  tried 
girl.  Mrs.  Hurst's  watchful  eyes  discovered  that 
Mr.  Arson  came  no  more  to  the  house;  that  he 
had,  in  fact,  made  but  one  call  since  Madeline  was 
pronounced  well,  although  his  attentions  during 
her  illness  had  been  marked. 

"I  just  believe  he  is  offended,"  Mrs.  Hurst 
complained  to  her  husband  ;  "  I  don't  wonder,  I  am 
sure.  The  way  that  doctor  runs  here  is  a  disgrace 
to  us  as  a  family.  What  could  Mr.  Arson  think 
but  that  he  came  to  see  Mad  ?  Of  course  he  can 
not  be  expected  to  know  that  the  fellow  is  run 
ning  after  a  married  woman  and  only  using  Mad 
as  an  excuse." 

"I  don't  suppose  there  is  any  great  disgrace  in 
having  a  man  like  Dr.  Portland  call  on  a  young 
woman,"  Mr.  Hurst  would  reply  doggedly.  "I 
don't  know  why  Nick  Arson  need  think  himself 
injured  by  such  a  thing." 

"Yes,  there  would  be  disgrace;  men  like  Dr. 
Portland  don't  keep  company  with  a  poor  girl 
like  Mad,  except  to  amuse  themselves  for  a  little 
while." 

"Look  here,"  said  Mr.  Hurst,  his  brows  dark 
ening,  "seems  to  me  you  forget  who  you  are  talk- 


THEY  ARE  LED  BY  UNSEEN  PATHS.     335 

ing  about.  I  don't  know  but  my  sister  is  as 
good  as  the  best  of  them." 

"Oh,  now,  don't  be  a  simpleton!  Of  course 
she  is  good  enough,  but  you  know  as  well  as  I  do 
how  people  look  at  such  things ;  she  is  nothing 
but  a  poor  girl,  with  no  prospects,  and  in  poor 
health  at  that ;  a  man  like  Dr.  Portland  isn't 
going  to  be  such  a  fool  as  to  notice  her ;  for  that 
matter  he  hasn't  thought  of  such  a  thing;  he  is 
too  much  absorbed  in  playing  his  game  with  that 
Holmes  woman  ;  but  I  don't  feel  so  sure  of  Mad, 
and  if  she  loses  Nick  Arson  by  carrying  on  a  one 
sided  flirtation  with  the  doctor,  I  think  it  will  be 
too  bad  !  Nick  will  be  a  rich  man  one  of  these 
days,  and  he  seems  to  be  in  real  earnest ;  he  was 
very  attentive  when  she  was  sick.  I  should  think 
you  would  talk  to  Mad  and  bring  her  to  reason." 

George  Hurst  was  in  no  mood  to  interfere,  and 
said  so,  plainly ;  whereupon  "Mrs.  Hurst  decided 
to  interfere  herself,  and  was  overwhelmed  with 
the  result.  Madeline  made  no  attempt  to  soften 
the  fact  that  she  had  broken  entirely  and  forever 
with  Mr.  Arson ;  and,  being  angrily  cross-ques 
tioned,  was  obliged  to  admit  that  very  plain  words 
had  passed  between  them  ;  he  had  "  even  asked 
her  to  marry  him  !  "  as  Mrs.  Hurst  put  it,  in  high- 
keyed,  indignant  tones,  and  had  been  refused ! 
She  did  not  know  what  excuse  Mad  could  have 
for  her  insulting  behavior ;  flirting  with  a  man 


336  HER  ASSOCIATE   MEMBERS. 

for  six  months,  leading  him  on  in  every  possible 
way,  then  turning  the  cold  shoulder  to  him  all  at 
once.  Upon  this  point  Madeline  was  reserved ; 
she  had  strong  reasons,  certainly,  but  some  of 
them  she  knew,  only  too  well,  her  questioner 
would  not  appreciate,  and  others  of  them  it  was 
perhaps  due  to  Mr.  Arson  that  she  be  silent 
about.  Still,  of  course,  some  answer  must  be 
given,  and  the  quiet  one,  that  she  had  not  for  Mr. 
Arson  the  feeling  which  would  alone  make  mar 
riage  possible,  only  called  forth  a  sneer. 

"It  is  a  pity  you  could  not  have  found  it  out 
before !  I  suppose  you  are  so  struck  with  that 
idiot  of  a  doctor  that  you  can  not  think  about  any 
one  else.  I  declare  I  did  not  know  even  you 
could  be  such  a  fool !  " 

After  that,  Madeline  fled  from  the  room,  unable 
to  trust  herself  longer. 

This  is  but  a  hint  of  the  trials  she  was  called 
upon  to  endure,  because  of  Mrs.  Hurst's  indus 
trious  tongue.  The  next  outburst  was  caused  by 
the  discovery  that  Liph  Stetson  walked  home 
with  Madeline  one  evening,  and  that  she  lingered 
long  at  the  door  talking  with  him.  Poor  Liph 
was  one  of  the  persons  whom  Madeline  longed  to 
help.  "  He  seems  almost  as  friendless  as  I  was 
myself,"  she  said  to  Mrs.  Holmes,  with  a  signifi 
cant  smile;  "if  I  could  only  help  him  to  find  the 
One  who  has  taken  hold  of  me!" 


THEY  ARE  LED  BY  UNSEEN  PATHS.     33 / 

She  found  Liph  more  ready  to  listen  than  she 
had  supposed  he  would  be,  and  the  time  seemed 
shorter  to  her  than  it  did  to  Mrs.  Hurst,  who  was 
waiting  in  a  fever  of  indignation  for  her  coming. 

"A  pretty  time  of  night  for  a  sick  girl!"  she 
said ;  "it  struck  ten  half  an  hour  ago." 

"Poh!"  said  her  husband,  "it  is  not  ten  min 
utes  since  the  clock  struck.  What  is  the  use  in 
bothering  over  Mad  all  the  time  as  though  she 
wasn't  old  enough  to  take  care  of  herself?" 

"Old  enough!  Some  people  never  get  old 
enough  to  have  any  sense.  Do  you  call  it 
decency  for  her  to  hang  around  the  front  door 
with  a  loafer  like  Liph  Stetson  ?  That  was  the 
one  she  has  been  talking  to  this  half  hour;  I  can 
see  him  as  plain  as  day,  in  the  moonlight ;  that  is 
just  like  Mad,  wild  after  the  boys,  if  she  can't  get 
those  of  her  station,  she  will  take  up  with  a  street 
rough." 

"That  is  all  stuff,"  said  Mr.  Hurst,  irritably, 
"  Liph  Stetson  is  nothing  but  a  boy ;  and  as  for 
being  a  street  rough,  I  never  heard  of  his  doing 
any  harm  to  anybody  but  himself." 

Nevertheless  Mrs.  Hurst  repeated  her  charges 
to  Madeline  the  next  morning,  ringing  the  changes 
on  the  unfortunate  occurrence  of  the  night  before, 
until  the  girl  lost  every  vestige  of  her  newly- 
acquired  self-control,  and  after  saying  many  words 
which  would  have  been  better  left  unsaid,  fled  to 


338  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

her  room  in  such  a  passion,  first  of  rage,  and  then 
of  remorse,  that  it  took  hours  to  recover  from  its 
effects. 

Mrs.  Holmes  had  many  troubled  thoughts 
about  her;  and  between  times,  had  much  worry 
ing  to  do  on  Happy's  account.  Mr.  Arson,  foiled 
in  one  direction,  apparently  resolved  to  do  all  the 
mischief  he  could  in  another,  and  was  fairly  turn 
ing  the  girl's  head  with  his  attentions.  In  her 
perplexity,  Mrs.  Holmes  finally  sought  counsel 
with  Dr.  Portland. 

"  You  said  you  thought  you  could  convince  a 
girl  who  was  worth  convincing,  of  the  worthless- 
ness  of  Mr.  Arson's  character.  I  do  not  know 
whether  you  will  be  willing  to  include  my  poor 
little  Happy  in  such  a  list,  though  she  is  an  hon 
est,  good-intentioned  girl,  and  Jesus  Christ  will  be 
able  to  make  her  fit  for  His  presence  some  day; 
but  in  the  meantime  she  is  in  peril.  Mr.  Arson  is 
doing  what  he  can  to  deceive  her;  of  course  his 
sole  motive  is  amusement,  but  that  she  can  not 
be  expected  to  understand.  Is  there  anything  we 
can  do  ? " 

"Yes,"  he  said  with  darkening  face;  "I  can  do 
something,  and  will.  I  will  say  that  to  the  fellow 
to-morrow,  which  will  prevent  him,  I  think,  from 
troubling  your  proteges  further.  I  am  sorry  I  had 
forgotten  about  it ;  I  meant  to  inquire  as  to  your 
wishes,  when  you  spoke  of  it  before,  but  other 


THEY  ARE  LED  BY  UNSEEN  PATHS.     339 

matters  drew  my  thoughts  away.  I  wish  I  could 
so  easily  see  my  way  toward  helping  another 
friend  of  yours,  Mrs.  Holmes.  I  mean  Miss 
Hurst,"  he  added,  as  she  waited  inquiringly;  "do 
you  realize,  I  wonder,  what  a  life  she  leads  with 
that  woman  ? " 

"I  know  something  of  it,"  Mrs.  Holmes  said, 
"and  imagine  more;  poor  child!  I  think  of  her 
a  great  deal  and  wonder  how  I  can  help;  I  do  not 
see  my  way  clear  as  yet ;  if  it  were  spring,  perhaps 

—  and  yet  I  do  not  know  — if  it  were  not  for  Mrs. 
Stetson,  but"  —then  she  stopped,  and  laughed 
over  the  half  statements  she  had  been  making, 
which  really  told  nothing.  It  was  annoying  to 
her  to  see  how  her  thoughts  would  return  to  a 
large,  rambling  old-fashioned  house,  where  a 
happy  family  might  be  gathered,  if  only  —  and 
that  was  as  far  as  her  plans  could  reach. 

"I  consider  myself  blocked,"  she  said  to  her 
husband,  laughing.  "That  persists  in  looking  like 
the  next  step  to  take,  and  yet  we  cannot  take  it. 
We  could  not  leave  poor  Mrs.  Stetson  now ;  and  if 
we  could,  we  should  lose  all  chance  of  benefiting 
poor  Liph  ;  still,  we  are  not  doing  him  any  good ; 
I  wonder  if  there  is  nothing  that  will  reach  him?" 
For  "poor  Liph  "  persisted  in  making  steady  head 
way  on  the  downward  road  during  those  days  of 
better  things  for  some. 

'  They  talked  it  over,  and  shook  their  heads,  and 


34O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

wondered  what  could  be  done,  and  declared  in 
their  wisdom  that  there  was  really  nothing  to  be 
done,  and  all  the  while  the  chief  Shepherd  was 
looking  out  for  His  stray  sheep,  and  planning  the 
call  which  should  win  him  homeward.  It  came  in 
a  most  unexpected  way,  as  so  many  calls  do  come, 
by  the  door  of  suffering.  To  the  dwellers  in  Mrs. 
Stetson's  home  it  looked  like  dire  calamity  and 
nothing  else,  when  there  came  a  morning  in  which 
she  did  not  appear  in  the  kitchen,  and  it  was 
announced  that  she  was  sick.  Not  sick  enough, 
apparently,  to  rouse  anxiety,  but  simply  to  bring 
more  discomfort  than  usual.  Mrs.  Holmes  came 
bravely  to  the  rescue,  with  such  success,  so  far  as 
the  table  was  concerned,  that  several  of  the 
boarders  hinted  among  themselves  that  the  land 
lady's  illness  was  a  blessing  in  disguise.  But  this 
was  only  temporary  comfort,  of  course  ;  before  the 
next  nightfall  it  became  necessary  to  hold  a  coun 
cil  as  to  what  could  be  done.  Mrs.  Stetson  was 
not  better,  but  rather  worse.  "  She  is  simply 
worn  out,"  Mrs.  Holmes  said,  "she  needs  a 
long  rest,  and  I  cannot  plan  how  she  is  to  get 
it." 

"There  is  one  way  which  must  not  be  planned," 
her  husband  answered  with  decision.  "Whatever 
may  be  said  of  your  ability,  you  certainly  haven't 
the  required  strength  to  conduct  a  boarding-house  ; 
you  were  quite  worn  out  last  night." 


THEY  ARE  LED  BY  UNSEEN  PATHS.     34 1 

"  But  Stuart,  what  can  be  done  ?  If  her  boarders 
leave  her  and  find  other  places,  the  poor  woman's 
means  of  support  will  be  gone.  We  must  man 
age  in  some  way  so  as  not  to  allow  that.  Oh ! 
I  wonder  if  somebody  could  not  induce  Mrs. 
Carpenter  to  come  to  the  rescue  for  a  few  days  ? 
It  would  be  no  harder  than  washing  and  iron 
ing  ;  and  her  husband  could  take  his  meals 
here." 

"You  are  a  genius,"  said  Mr.  Holmes,  smiling. 
"  I  will  myself  undertake  to  bring  that  to  pass. 
I  will  call  upon  the  lady  this  morning;  that  will 
be  a  good  limit  for  my  morning  walk." 

It  came  to  pass  that  this  plan  worked  to  a 
charm  ;  what  Mrs.  Holmes  or  Dr.  Portland  would 
probably  have  been  coldly  denied,  Mr.  Holmes' 
talent  for  managing  people  accomplished  so  swiftly, 
that  before  noon  of  the  third  day,  Mrs.  Carpenter 
was  making  swift  moves  through  the  Stetson 
kitchen,  the  like  of  which  Happy  had  never  seen 
before. 

For  two  days  more  there  was  something  like 
comfort  in  the  house ;  then  another  want  made 
itself  manifest.  Mrs.  Stetson,  who  had  bitterly 
deprecated  the  trouble  she  was  making,  and 
assured  her  self-appointed  nurse  each  day  that 
"to-morrow  she  was  going  to  get  up  and  go  about 
her  business,  confessed  on  the  fifth  day  that  there 
"wa'n't  more  strength  to  her  than  there  was  to  a 


342  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

wilted  cabbage  leaf,"  and  she  didn't  know  what 
was  to  become  of  her.  It  was  then  that  Dr.  Port 
land  was  permitted  to  come  up  and  make  "just  a 
friendly  call."  He  looked  grave  and  professional 
when  he  came  away. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

ONE    OF    THEM    GOES    HOME. 

IT  is  going  to  be  a  long,  slow  business,"  he 
explained  to  Mrs.  Holmes,  who  had  followed 
him  out;  "the  woman  is,  as  she  says,  'all  tuck 
ered  out.'  She  has  a  slow,  wearying  fever,  and 
is  broken  clown  in  numberless  ways ;  she  needs 
care  and  patience  and  much  petting." 

"I  will  take  care  of  her,"  urged  Mrs.  Holmes. 
"  She  is  really  very  little  care ;  she  lies  quiet  a 
great  deal  of  the  time." 

Both  gentlemen  shook  their  heads,  the  husband 
in  a  peremptory  manner.  "It  is  of  no  use, 
Chrissy,"  he  said  decidedly,  in  answer  to  her 
look,  "  I  will  be  as  reasonable  as  possible,  but  any 
more  wholesale  nursing  I  can  not  permit ;  it  has 
been  one  of  my  drawbacks  toward  gaining  health, 
the  persistency  with  which  I  was  tempted  to 
worry  about  you.  As  for  undertaking  another 
case  so  soon  after  mine,  it  is  not  to  be  thought 
of.  Mrs.  Stetson  needs  a  nurse." 

343 


344  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"Oh,  Stuart,  the  idea!  The  very  mention  of  it 
would  make  her  frantic ;  she  would  suppose  her 
self  much  worse  than  she  is,  arid  the  thought  of 
the  expense  would  trouble  her;  besides,  where  is 
a  nurse  to  be  had  ? " 

"She  needs  me,"  said  a  firm  voice  in  the  back 
ground,  and  Madeline  Hurst  pushed  wider  the 
door  of  the  dining-room  and  entered. 

"  I  heard  your  last  words,"  she  said  smiling  in 
answer  to  their  surprise  ;  "  I  came  to  know  if  there 
was  not  something  I  could  do  to  help.  Mrs.  Stet 
son  was  very  kind,  when  I  was  sick ;  there  is 
nothing  to  prevent  my  spending  both  days  and 
nights  with  her  if  she  will  let  me;  and  I  think  I 
know  by  this  time  just  what  sick  people  want." 
Mrs.  Holmes  expected  that  the  doctor  would 
object  to  this,  on  the  score  of  Madeline's  health  ; 
but  somewhat  to  her  surprise  he  pronounced  it  an 
excellent  plan.  "  For  the  clays,"  he  explained,  "as 
to  nights  we  will  try  to  have  our  patient  sleep 
quietly  so  that  all  she  will  need  will  be  Happy, 
on  a  couch  near  at  hand  in  case  of  any  thing 
unexpected.  I  do  not  imagine  that  she  is  going 
to  be  very  ill;  there  will  be  hours  during  the  day 
when  she  may  be  safely  left  to  the  sleep  which 
she  needs."  So  it  came  to  pass  that  the  house 
hold,  thus  re-organized,  settled  with  remarkable 
celerity  into  its  new  grooves  and  ran  smoothly. 
Outside  the  sick-room,  absolute  comfort  reigned, 


ONE  OF  THEM  GOES  HOME.         345 

The  boarders  were  one  and  all  delighted  with  the 
change,  and  one  of  the  more  unfeeling  declared 
that  while  he  wished  the  landlady  no  harm,  he 
thought  it  would  be  decidedly  for  her  benefit  to 
keep  her  bed  for  a  year  or  two.  Happy  con 
fided  to  Mrs.  Holmes  that  '  Mis'  Carpenter  moved 
awful  swift  and  was  kind  of  glum,  but  for  all  that 
she  wa'n't  onreasonable,  and  they  got  along  first 
rate ;  and  that  the  way  the  boarders  treated  that 
old  Joe  was  real  nice  to  see ;  there  wa'n't  one  of 
'em  but  seemed  to  be  interested  in  his  keepin' 
right.'  Be  it  remarked  in  passing,  that  Happy 
excepted  one  who  had  gone  from  the  house,  and 
the  city.  Whatever  Ur.  Portland's  "word"  had 
been  which  he  promised  to  speak,  it  had  been 
strangely  effective  in  relieving  them  not  only 
from  Mr.  Arson's  attentions  but  his  presence. 
For  a  day  or  two  after  his  departure,  Mrs. 
Holmes  wondered  curiously,  somewhat  anxiously, 
whether  Happy's  heart  had  gone  away  with  him. 
She  questioned,  one  day,  with  a  view  to  discov 
ering.  "Why,  yes,"  said  Happy,  with  a  kind  of 
slow  gravity,  "  I  miss  the  things  he  used  to  say 
to  me ;  they  sounded  nice,  and  I  ain't  had  no 
great  of  friends,  ever ;  but  Dr.  Portland  says  he 
didn't  mean  a  word  he  said,  and  I  don't  s'pose  he 
did.  I  don't  s'pose  it  would  have  made  any  dif 
ference  if  he  had ;  I  ain't  wanted  him  to  say  nice 
things  to  me  since  the  night  he  told  me  a  lie," 


346  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"Did  he  do  that?"  Mrs.  Holmes  asked  anx 
iously,  wondering  much,  what  sort  of  influence 
the  man  had  tried  to  get  over  this  ignorant  girl, 
and  whether  there  was  danger  that  he  would 
attempt  to  renew  it. 

Yes,  ma'am,  he  did  ;  He  told  me  there  wa'n't 
no  such  person  as  Jesus  Christ ;  said  he  knew 
there  wa'n't,  and  you  folks  was  all  tryin'  to  deceive 
me  because  I  was  a  poor  girl  that  had  never  had 
no  chance.  Of  course  I  knew  that  was  a  lie, 
because  I'm  acquainted  with  Jesus  Christ  myself, 
and  there  can't  nobody  cheat  me  about  that!" 

"The  Lord  takes  care  of  his  own  in  unexpected 
ways,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes  to  her  husband,  as  she 
detailed  this  conversation,  the  tears  being  in  her 
eyes  the  while.  It  seemed  wonderful  that  Happy 
Smithers  should  really  be  "acquainted  "  with  Jesus 

Christ ! 

****** 

All  these  experiences  which  we  have  been  liv 
ing  over,  took  time,  and  the  winter,  which  in  that 
choice  country  was  winter  only  in  name,  slipped 
away;  the  more  noiselessly  and  unconsciously  for* 
the  fact  that  it  seemed  always  to  be  October,  or 
May;  the  "long,  slow  winter"  to  which  Mrs. 
Chrissy  Holmes  had  looked  forward  with  so  many 
unspoken  forebodings,  the  time  when  she  was  to 
fold  her  hands  and  wait !  Had  they  ever  been 
fuller  ?  In  reality  she  had  not  even  had  time  to 


ONE  OF  THEM  GOES  HOME.         347 

write  those  long,  full  letters  which  she  had  prom 
ised  to  Harmon  and  his  wife,  and  to  Nellie,  and 
Chess  Gardner.  Yet,  as  I  say,  she  did  not  real 
ize  the  swift  passage  of  time,  and  was  always  look 
ing  forward  to  "next  week,"  when  she  meant  to 
write,  and  to  read,  and  to  do  many  waiting  things. 

"As  soon  as  Mrs.  Stetson  is  well  again,"  was 
the  time  set  now  for  doing  thus  and  so.  And 
the  weeks  passed,  and  Mrs.  Stetson  kept  her  room 
and  for  the  most  part  her  bed ;  and  Mrs.  Carpen 
ter  kept  the  astonished  kitchen  in  immaculate 
order,  and  the  boarders  in  a  state  of  satisfaction 
never  before  attained.  And  Madeline  Hurst  con 
tinued  to  "go  out  to  nurse,"  as  her  sister-in-law 
put  it,  with  curling  lip ;  adding  that  she  supposed 
she  was  doing  it  for  the  sake  of  Liph,  who  seemed 
to  be  the  only  string  she  had  left  to  her  bow. 

Poor  Liph !  Nobody  had  as  yet  succeeded  in 
prevailing  upon  him  to  help  himself.  He  was 
steadily  going  downward,  not  with  long  strides, 
but  by  the  process  of  daily,  sure  descent. 

One  other  outward  change  had  taken  place 
which  caused  a  great  deal  of  talk  in  the  neigh 
borhood  where  the  Hursts  lived ;  Dr.  Portland, 
whose  former  boarding-place  had  been  broken  up, 
removed  himself  to  the  Stetson  house  early  in  the 
landlady's  illness.  "  It  is  quite  as  central  as  my 
old  place,"  he  explained  to  Mr.  Holmes,  "and  I 
shall  be  within  call  at  night  in  event  of  ever  being 


348  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

wanted.  Besides,  it  will  make  my  bill  more  com 
fortable  for  the  old  lady,  if  she  has  one  against 
me  to  offset  it." 

These  were  the  reasons  he  gave ;  but  Mrs. 
Hurst  sneered  and  said:  "Now  he  can  flirt  to  his 
heart's  content ;  he  must  have  had  some  trouble 
since  Mad  went  down  there  to  work ;  it  left  them 
no  excuse  for  running  here.  That  woman's  hus 
band  must  be  blind  and  stupid ;  perhaps  he  lost 
his  mind  during  his  illness ;  I  am  sure  it  looks 
like  it." 

Never  were  two  people  more  serenely  uncon 
scious  of  the  gossip  which  was  now  afloat  through 
out  that  street  concerning  them ;  and  being  no 
wiser  than  pure-minded  young  people  often  are, 
they  innocently  gave  additional  fuel  to  the  mean 
and  wicked  flame  by  their  frank  and  friendly  inter 
change  of  courtesies  and  kindnesses.  "  She  even 
mends  his  driving-gloves  for  him,  right  in  plain 
sight,  too!"  detailed  Mrs.  Hurst  with  her  voice 
full  of  exclamation  points,  which  were  echoed  and 
translated  by  certain  eager  friends  of  hers.  "I 
passed  there  this  morning,  and  she  stood  on  the 
piazza  taking  the  last  stitches,  and  he  waiting  for 
her  with  his  horses  at  the  gate,  and  they  chatting 
together  like  a  couple  of  doves.  It  does  beat 
all ! " 

There  came  a  day  when  the  quiet,  smooth- 
running  machinery  of  the  readjusted  house  was 


ONE  OF  THEM  GOES  HOME.        349 

rudely  broken  in  upon.  Mrs.  Stetson,  who  had 
been  the  quietest  and  most  grateful  of  patients, 
was  unusually  restless,  and  inquired  several  times 
during  the  day  for  the  doctor,  who  had  gone  on  a 
long  country  ride,  leaving  word  that  he  could  not 
be  back  until  evening. 

"She  is  anxious  to  see  you,"  Mrs.  Holmes 
explained,  meeting  him  in  the  hall  just  at  twilight, 
"  but  I  do  not  know  for  what  reason ;  she  does 
not  seem  to  be  suffering."  But  directly  the  expe 
rienced  eyes  of  the  physician  rested  upon  her, 
he  knew,  and  seemed  almost  bewildered  by  the 
knowledge.  He  questioned  Madeline  half-sternly 
as  to  what  had  happened  during  the  day.  "Noth 
ing  has  happened,"  said  Mrs.  Stetson,  "not  a 
thing  but  what  was  nice  and  good.  She  has  been 
just  as  kind  and  attentive  as  she  could  be,  and 
so  have  they  all ;  but  it  has  come  all  the  same ; 
I  knew  it  would ;  I've  felt  sure  of  it  for  quite  a 
spell.  I'm  going,  ain't  I  ?  I  thought  so ;  I  see 
it  in  your  face.  Well,  now,  as  I  tell  you,  I've 
thought  so  this  long  time ;  and  you  needn't  think 
I'm  sorry;  because  I  ain't,  not  a  mite.  I've  laid 
here  and  thought  it  all  out;  and  it  is  the  best 
thing  that  could  happen  all  around.  Mis'  Carpen 
ter,  she  gets  along  first-rate  and  keeps  the  board 
ers  comfortable ;  they've  told  me  so  one  time  and 
another,  all  along;  and  Liph "  —there  came  a 
sudden  pause,  and  the  worn  face  worked  strangely 


3SO  HER   ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

for  a  moment,  then  she  said  quietly  in  an  altered 
tone,  "It  will  be  all  right  about  Liph,  too." 

It  took  them  all  night  and  much  of  the  next 
day  to  get  their  bearings,  and  understand  how 
this  new,  strange  thing  could  be. 

They  cross-questioned  the  doctor. 

"  It  is  sudden,"  he  explained ;  "  I  have  been 
fearing  something  of  the  kind,  when  I  saw  how 
impossible  it  seemed  for  her  to  rally,  but  I 
thought  there  would  be  weeks  yet,  possibly 
months,  and  in  the  meantime  there  might  be  a 
change  for  the  better.  It  is  a  remarkable  change 
for  a  day  to  make ;  but  it  is  made.  She  is  quite 
right  ;  the  time  is  very  short.  That  poor  fellow 
ought  to  be  told,  and  ought  not  to  leave  her  much 
now,  because  she  is  liable  to  sink  away  at  any 
moment."  Poor  Liph  !  One  and  another  had 
almost  unconsciously  used  that  adjective  of  late 
in  speaking  his  name ;  it  never  applied  more  fully 
apparently  than  now.  They  had  not  looked  to 
see  him  show  much  feeling,  but  they  were  utterly 
mistaken.  It  appeared  that  that  sullen  exterior 
covered  a  heart  which  could  ache  terribly.  Of  all 
the  household,  none  were  so  much  amazed,  so 
incredulous  as  he.  It  seemed  as  though  it  had 
never  once  crossed  his  mind  that  his  mother 
might  die.  He  sat  like  a  statue  of  misery  beside 
her  bed,  and  would  not  be  comforted.  There  was 
very  little  time  in  which  to  get  used  to  the  news. 


ONE  OF  THEM  GOES  HOME.        35 1 

Before  evening  of  the  second  day  it  was  apparent 
to  every  one  who  saw  her,  that  Mrs.  Stetson  was 
going  from  them  swiftly.  Among  them  all  she 
was  really  the  only  one  who  was  quite  composed. 
"It  is  all  just  right,"  she  said,  gratefully;  "I've 
been  a  good  deal  of  a  talker,  but  there's  some 
things  I  didn't  seem  to  know  how  to  talk  about, 
so  I  ain't  said  a  word  ;  but  I've  got  a  good  deal  to 
say.  Things  is  very  different  with  me  from  what 
they  was.  Do  you  remember,  Mis'  Holmes,  that 
time  you  come  to  the  kitchen  and  washed  up,  and 
made  lemon  pies,  and  I  don't  know  what  you 
didn't  do  ;  and  you  sent  me  up  stairs  to  get  down 
on  my  knees,  and  pray  about  something  you  told 
me,  while  you  dished  up  the  dinner?  Well,  I 
done  it,  jest  as  you  said,  and  it  made  the  most 
amazing  difference  with  everything,  and  has  ever 
since.  First  I  thought  I'd  live,  and  be  so  differ 
ent  that  the  very  hens  in  the  yard  wouldn't  know 
me;  but  I  found  that  wasn't  so  easy  to  do;  you 
said  I  scolded  Liph  too  much,  and  it  is  true,  I 
did  ;  poor  Liph  !  he's  had  a  hard  life  of  it,"  and 
the  wrinkled,  yellow  old  hand  reached  out  and 
rested  on  his  shock  of  hair,  the  while  the  fellow 
fairly  groaned  in  agony.  "  I  don't  know  why  I 
should  have  been  hard  on  him,  either;  I'd 'a'  been 
willing  to  die  for  him  any  minute  since  he  was 
born  ;  but  Liph,  poor  fellow,  your  mother  did  not 
know  how  to  live  for  you ;  and  she  almost  killed 


352  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

you  with  her  tongue.  I  see  it  now,  just  as  plain 
as  day;  and  I  saw  it  after  this  time  I'm  telling 
you  of,  and  I  tried  hard  to  make  it  different,  but 
I'm  getting  to  be  an  old  woman,  old  before  my 
time,  they  say  —  never  mind,  I'm  old  ;  and  it  was 
hard  work  not  to  burst  out  at  him  when  I  was 
tired  and  cross ;  and  I  kept  a  doing  it  when  I 
didn't  want  to."  At  this  point  Liph  dropped 
upon  his  knees  beside  the  bed.  "Oh,  mother!" 
he  cried,  "Oh  mother,  don't!  You  have  never 
said  any  thing  to  me  that  I  didn't  deserve  a  hun 
dred  times  over.  Oh,  mother,  forgive  me  and 
live,  for  my  sake;  mother,  I  love  you." 

A  radiant  smile  overspread  the  sallow  face  on 
the  bed.  "Hear  that  now!"  she  said,  and  her 
hand  rested  again  on  his  head,  and  brushed  back 
the  shock  of  hair  tenderly.  "He  loves  me,  and  I 
always  knew  he  did.  I'm  going  to  live,  my  boy ; 
I'm  going  to  live  in  heaven.  It  is  a  wonderful 
thing;  I  never  expected  it;  not  for  the  last  thirty 
years,  but  I  be.  It  is  all  settled,  and  I'm  tickled 
to  go,  because  I  can  see  as  plain  as  day  that  it 
will  be  better  for  you,  my  boy.  You  will  never 
disappoint  me  again  ;  I'm  sure  of  it.  It  was  kind 
of  borne  in  upon  me  all  night,  that  He  would  get 
hold  of  you  by  my  going  away,  somehow,  and 
keep  you.  He  can  do  it ;  Joe  Carpenter  here, 
knows  He  can,  don't  you,  Joe?"  And  into  the 
solemn  stillness  of  the  second  in  which  she  waited 


ONE  OF  THEM  GOES  HOME.         353 

for  an  answer,  came  Joe's  grave  voice,  saying 
firmly,  almost  exultingly  : 

"Aye,  that  He  can  ;  didn't  He  get  hold  of  me?" 

"Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Stetson,  repeating  the  exult 
ant  note ;  "  He  did,  and  He  got  hold  of  Happy, 
and  of  me.  What  is  the  use  of  doubting,  after 
that?  Oh,  Liph,  I  know  you  will.  You  will  be 
mother's  boy  again,  as  you  used  to  be;  and 
mother  will  be  proud  of  you.  She  will  watch  you 
up  in  heaven,  and  say  to  some  angel,  every  now 
and  then  :  '  Do  you  see  that  blessed  man  down 
there?  That's  my  Liph.'  And  she  will  watch 
for  you  to  come  to  heaven,  and  when  you  come, 
she  vvill  put  her  hand  on  your  arm,  and  say : 
'This  is  my  Liph.'  I  know  you'll  do  it.  You 
will  never  disappoint  your  mother." 

Liph's  groans  had  ceased  ;  he  knelt  beside  the 
bed,  his  head  buried  in  the  clothes,  but  as  his 
mother's  voice  stopped,  he  raised  it  and  looked 
steadily  at  her  with  eyes  which  were  tearless. 
"Mother,"  he  said,  "I  never  will,  never,  so  help 
me  God.  From  this  minute  I  swear  to  you,  that 
I  will  never  drink  another  drop  of  rum,  and  I  will 
do  the  best  I  can  to  live  the  life  you  want  me  to ; 
I  call  upon  God  to  hear  my  words,  and  take  hold 
of  me." 

No  words  will  describe  the  power  of  the  scene, 
nor  the  look  of  unearthly  brightness  on  that 
mother's  face. 


354  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"My  little  boy,"  she  said,  low  and  in  infinite 
tenderness.  "  Mother's  little  boy  ;  hers  forever. 
He  will  never  disappoint  me  again ;  and  he  calls 
upon  God  to  help  him  ;  the  God  who  helped  me  ; 
and  He  will  do  it."  Then,  still  in  the  same  exult 
ant  tone,  she  said:  "Joe,  I  want  you  to  pray. 
I've  had  good  prayers;  Mr.  Holmes,  he's  been  in 
every  morning,  and  every  evening,  and  prayed 
such  prayers  as  helped  me  to  see  God  right  here 
in  my  room  ;  but  I'd  just  like  to  hear  you  pray 
once." 

Instantly  Joe  Carpenter,  the  reclaimed  drunk 
ard,  dropped  upon  his  knees ;  the  entire  circle 
about  the  bedside  with  one  exception,  followed  his 
example;  and  there  went  up  to  God  such  a  prayer 
for  Liph  and  for  Liph's  dying  mother  as  certainly 
that  boy  at  least  would  find  it  hard  to  forget. 
During  the  few  never-to-be-forgotten  moments, 
one  thing  occurred  which  even  then  brought  a 
flush  of  joy  to  Mrs.  Holmes'  face,  and  she  pressed 
her  husband's  hand  to  call  his  attention.  The 
only  one  who  had  not  bowed  before  God  was  Mrs. 
Carpenter,  standing  pale  and  cold  in  the  back 
ground  ;  but  as  Joe's  voice  filled  the  room,  and  his 
simple,  solemn  words  filled  their  hearts,  she  came 
swiftly,  silently,  and  dropped  beside  her  husband, 
laying  her  hand  trembling  and  cold  upon  his.  It 
was  instantly  grasped  ;  and  Mrs.  Holmes  seeing 
it,  let  the  smiles  come  with  her  tears.  Dr.  Port- 


ONE  OF  THEM  GOES  HOME.         355 

land  was  only  half  heeding  the  prayer ;  his  eyes 
were  upon  the  rapt  face  on  the  bed.  She  lay 
still,  with  closed  eyes,  with  her  hand  resting  upon 
Liph's  head,  and  a  look  upon  her  face  which  was 
not  of  this  world.  She  lay  motionless  even  after 
all  had  risen  save  Liph  ;  but  the  repose  of  her  face 
was  so  natural,  so  unlike  death,  that  it  was  not 
until  the  doctor  said  in  low  tones,  "It  is  over," 
that  any  of  them  knew  she  had  gone  away. 

But  a  few  days  after  this  experience,  Mrs. 
Holmes  received  a  call  that  gave  her  almost  more 
surprise  than  any  thing  which  had  occurred  during 
her  absence  from  home. 

The  Reverend  Dr.  Longman,  past  or  of  the 
church  which  she  had  attended,  asked  to  see  her 
on  special  business.  He  had  called  before,  of 
course,  but  it  had  been  at  a  time  when  her  hus 
band  was  not  gaining  as  she  had  hoped,  and  her 
heart  had  been  so  heavy  and  preoccupied  that  she 
had  felt  but  little  interest  in  the  call,  and  hardly 
considered  herself  acquainted  with  the  pastor. 
She  was  aware  that  during  Mrs.  Stetson's  illness 
there  had  been  special  meetings  held  in  the  church 
and  that  there  was  an  unusual  interest;  but  she 
had  known  very  little  about  them  beyond  the  fact 
that  Joe  Carpenter  had  been  regular  in  attendance, 
and  that  Happy  had  gone  when  she  could.  Mr. 
Holmes  did  not  yet  venture  out  in  the  evening, 
and  she  herself  had  been  so  absorbed  as  to  leave 


356  HER   ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

neither  time  nor  strength  for  evening  service. 
The  disorganized  household  had  not  yet  settled  as 
to  what  was  to  be  done  in  the  future,  when  Dr. 
Longman  made  his  call.  He  was  gray-haired, 
courteous,  gentle-voiced  and  bewildered.  He  had 
always  seemed  to  the  energetic  young  woman  like 
a  good  man  who  was  half-dazed  with  his  surround 
ings,  and  never  quite  certain  as  to  what  would  be 
wise  to  do  next.  Therefore  she  was  the  more 
astonished  when  he  plunged,  gently  indeed,  but 
after  all  plunged  into  the  practical. 

"Mrs.  Holmes,  excuse  me,  but  I  have  an  idea 
that  you  are  especially  interested  in  young  people. 
Ami  right  ? " 

"Why,  I  think  so,"  Mrs.  Chrissy  said,  hesita 
ting  and  smiling;  she  was  still  so  young  herself 
as  to  have  given  but  little  thought  to  the  people 
who  as  a  class  claimed  her  special  interest ;  it  had 
simply  been  natural  to  think  about  the  girls  and 
boys,  of  course. 

"That  is  what  I  thought,"  the  doctor  said, 
complacently;  "it  has  been  borne  in  upon  me 
that  you  might  be  just  the  person  with  whom  to 
advise,  now  that  I  have  come  to  a  sort  of  climax 
as  it  were,  or  station,  perhaps,  from  which  it 
seems  desirable  to  take  a  new  departure.  You 
are  aware,  perhaps,  of  the  special  interest  we  have 
been  having  in  our  congregation  during  the  past 
few  weeks  ? " 


ONE  OF  THEM  GOES  HOME.         357 

Mrs.  Holmes  explained  how  little  she  knew 
about  it,  and  reminded  him  of  the  peculiar  circum 
stances  which  had  held  them  from  enjoying  the 
meetings. 

"Ah,  yes,  I  know,"  he  said  kindly.  "It  has 
been  very  sad,  and  yet  very  wonderful.  The 
power  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  His  ability 
and  His  willingness  to  reach  and  to  save  to  the 
uttermost,  has  been  borne  in  upon  me  wonder 
fully  of  late.  I  knew  the  poor  woman  to  whom 
you  have  been  so  kind  ;  knew  her  slightly.  I  con 
fess  that  she  seemed  to  me  like  one  whom  the 
gospel  might  never  reach.  It  is  simply  wonderful 
to  think  of  her  as  in  heaven  !  " 

"It  must  seem  so  to  you,"  said  Mrs.  Holmes, 
sympathetically.  He  looked  to  her  like  a  mild 
and  cultured  saint  who  had  not  realized  before 
that  any  but  the  high-toned  and  reasonably  well 
educated,  were  included  among  those  whom  Christ 
came  to  save. 

"  Simply  wonderful !  "  he  repeated  thoughtfully, 
not  to  her,  but  to  space,  with  a  far-away  rapt 
look  upon  his  face. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

SHE    LOSES    THEM EVERY    ONE. 

WELL,"  he  added,  after  a  moment's  silence, 
making  an  evident  effort  to  get  back  to 
the  practical,  "we  have  had  good  meetings,  and  I 
may  say  unexpected  results.  There  have  been 
several  conversions  among  the — well,  the  unusual 
classes ;  you  have  met  the  man  Joseph  Carpenter, 
I  think?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Mrs.  Chrissy,  controlling  a 
wicked  inclination  to  laugh,  and  putting  it  into  a 
little  cough,  instead. 

"Yes,  so  I  have  heard.  You  have  been  instru 
mental  in  helping  him,  as  well  as  others,  I 
believe ;  the  Lord  has  given  you  a  power,  dear 
madam,  that  I  could  almost  envy.  Joseph  Car 
penter  is  a  miracle  of  redeeming  grace ;  and  there 
are  others  almost  as  surprising.  What  I  feel, 
what  I  have  been  thinking  for  a  long  time, 
indeed,  is  that  something  ought  to  be  done  for 
our  young  people;  something  more  definite,  I 
353 


SHE    LOSES    THEM EVERY    ONE.  359 

mean,  than  we  seem  able  to  compass  with  the  reg 
ular  means  of  grace  at  command.  I  do  not  know 
that  you  are  acquainted  with  a  movement  of 
which  I  have  read  with  constantly  deepening 
interest ;  and  yet  you  may  have  heard  of  it.  It 
occurred  to  me  to  ask  you ;  I  refer  to  the  Chris- 
tion  Endeavor  movement ;  it  seems  to  have 
become  a  power  in  some  portions  of  our  country." 

You  who  knew  Chrissy  Hollister  hardly  need 
to  be  told  that  Mrs.  Holmes  at  once  flashed  into 
such  eager,  delighted  enthusiasm  as  almost  over 
whelmed  the  quiet  doctor  of  divinity  before  her. 
She  became  instantly  such  a  "bureau  of  informa 
tion  "  as  he  had  not  imagined  possible  to  one 
small  woman,  and  poured  out  her  facts,  and  her 
convictions,  and  her  hopes,  in  a  tumultuous 
flood. 

"I  am  gratified  beyond  measure,"  he  said,  at 
last,  when  there  was  a  place  for  him  to  speak. 
"I  had  hoped,  for  some  reason  —  it  seemed  a  sort 
of  inward  conviction  —  that  you  might  be  able  to 
give  me  some  suggestion  ;  but  I  did  not  know 
what  a  mine  of  wealth  I  was  about  to  reach. 
May  I  hope  that  you  will  help  us  try  to  organize 
something  of  the  kind  here,  very  soon  ?  I  assure 
you  I  think  there  is  need  and  opportunity.  We 
have  more  young  people  among  us  than  I  had 
realized,  until  within  a  few  weeks  ;  and  some  are 
peculiar  persons,  needing  all  the  help  which 


360  HER    ASSOCIATE     MEMBERS. 

organized  effort  will  give  them.  There  is  a 
young  woman  by  the  name  of  Hurst,  you  have 
probably  met  her  ?  I  am  told  that  she  was 
employed  here  during  Mrs.  Stetson's  illness. 
She  tells  me  that  she  has  very  lately  taken  a 
stand  for  Christ ;  she  comes  from  a  peculiar 
household,  but  I  think  she  may  perhaps  be 
helped,  and  be  made  helpful.  Then,  there  is  the 
young  woman  Hepzibah  Smithers ;  that  is  truly 
another  remarkable  instance  of  divine  power,  Mrs. 
Holmes;  and  then,  poor  Eliphalet  Stetson  —  it 
may  seem  presumptuous,  but  I  really  begin  to  be 
hopeful  for  him  ;  if  we  could  rally  around  him, 
some  way,  and  give  him  our  support,  who  can  tell 
what  the  result  may  be  ?  " 

That  trying  sense  of  the  ridiculous,  which  had 
been  poor  Chrissy  Hollister's  discomfort  many 
a  time,  now  almost  overpowered  Mrs.  Stuart 
Holmes,  who  very  much  wanted  to  be  matronly 
and  dignified.  The  idea  of  the  Reverend  Dr. 
Longman,  with  his  studied  courtliness  of  manner, 
and  studied  courtesy  of  speech,  'rallying'  around 
Liph  Stetson,  was  almost  too  much  for  his  lis 
tener.  What  a  blessing  it  was  when  the  door 
opened  suddenly  and  her  husband  came  in  search 
of  her!  "Oh,  Stuart,"  she  said,  rising  quickly, 
"I  was  just  wishing  you  were  at  home.  Dr. 
Longman,  has  such  good  news,  and  such  a  beauti 
ful  idea,  which  he  has  asked  our  help  in  carrying 


SHE    LOSES    THEM EVERY    ONE.  361 

out ;  I  have  told  him  we  shall  be  only  too  glad  to 
help." 

"And  so,"  wrote  the  lady  to  her  long-suffering 
brother  and  sister,  a  few  evenings  thereafter,  "  we 
actually  have  a  full-fledged  Christian  Endeavor 
society,  with  thirteen  active  members  and  ever  so 
many  associate.  And  what  seems  very  strange 
to  me,  is,  that  not  one  of  the  persons  whom  1 
have  pleased  myself  by  calling  in  fancy,  my  asso 
ciate  members  is  left  on  that  list !  They  have 
every  one  entered  the  ranks  of  the  'active.' 
And  we  put  Liph  Stetson  on  the  '  Lookout  Com 
mittee !'  think  of  it !  I  told  him  I  placed  his 
name  there,  mentally,  the  night  he  made  an  effort 
to  look  out  for  my  Madeline's  peace ;  the  state 
ment  called  from  him  the  nearest  approach  to  a 
smile  there  has  been  on  the  poor  fellow's  face 
since  his  mother  died.  Joe  Carpenter  is  also 
on  the  Lookout  Committee.  'I'll  do  it,  Mis' 
Holmes/  he  exclaimed,  when  I  had  explained 
some  of  his  duties,  and  his  homely  old  face  was 
radiant,  'I'm  a  doing  it  now;  I'm  looking  out  all 
the  while  for  Mis'  Carpenter  and  the  doctor ;  I 
just  hanker  after  'em  both  ;  and  I  really  believe 
I'll  get  them ! '  So  far  as  his  wife  is  concerned 
I  begin  to  think  he  will.  She  makes  few  con 
cessions  outwardly,  but  is  very  much  changed, 
nevertheless ;  and  she  did  actually  tell  me  this 
very  night,  with  a  grim  face  it  is  true,  but  in  a 


362  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

tone  which  meant  business,  that  I  was  right  when 
I  said  Joe  was  a  better  man  than  she  was  woman. 
'He  ought  to  have  had  his  chance  with  a  better 
wife,'  she  said.  'It  wouldn't  be  safe  to  make  any 
such  remark  to  him,'  I  told  her,  whereupon  there 
flitted  just  the  ghost  of  a  smile  over  her  face,  the 
first  I  have  ever  seen  there  which  had  no  mockery 
in  it.  I  really  feel  more  hopeful  about  her  than 
I  ever  expected  to  ;  and  Stuart  is  confident.  'The 
Lord  will  give  her  to  Joe  as  a  trophy  of  grace,' 
he  says,  'and  give  them  both  to  the  world  as  a 
token  of  what  He  can  do,  even  with  the  most 
unpromising  of  His  creatures.'  One  may  well  say 
that  of  Liph  Stetson,  too.  We  shall  keep  watch 
of  'poor  Liph,'  as  you  say  I  always  call  him,  with 
peculiar  interest.  He  is  very  young  yet ;  there  is 
a  chance  for  him  to  do  almost  any  thing  good  with 
his  life;  and  he  is  not  going  to  disappoint  his 
mother,  you  know !  She  had  almost  unbounded 
ambitions  for  him.  I  reminded  him  of  that,  last 
night,  when  he  was  pumping  a  pail  of  water  for 
me,  and  we  were  having  a  word  of  confidence 
together.  'I  know  it,'  he  said,  with  a  look  in  his 
face  which  we  used  to  call  'dogged,'  but  which 
now  one  is  inclined  to  name  resolution,  'I  know  it, 
and  I'm  bound  to  do  my  best;  I  told  her  so.' 
But  as  regards  the  doctor,  I  do  not  feel  so  hope 
ful  ;  he  is  very  reticent,  much  more  so,  indeed, 
than  he  used  to  be;  but  he  makes  no  more  mock- 


SHE    LOSES    THEM EVERY    ONE.  363 

ing  speeches.  The  truth  is,  that  for  people  who 
stood  together  by  Madeline's  sick  bed,  and  saw 
her  terror  of  death,  and  then,  who  knelt  together 
about  Mrs.  Stetson's  bed  and  saw  her  die,  mock 
ery  is  manifestly  out  of  place.  Dr.  Portland 
never  does  any  thing  which  looks  out  of  place,  but 
whether  his  worldliness  is  too  deep-rooted  ever  to 
yield,  is  a  question  which  gives  me  anxious  hours. 
Stuart,  of  course,  is  hopeful ;  he  always  is,  you 
remember.  He,  by  the  way,  has  not  forgotten 
how  to  organize  and  manage  Christian  Endeavor 
societies  ;  the  way  he  took  hold  of  this  one,  and 
brought  order  and  harmony  out  of  apparently 
incongruous  elements  would  have  delighted  your 
hearts.  'He  has  a  rare  gift,  madam,'  says  the 
courtly  Dr.  Longman,  and  I  fully  agree  with 
him." 

After  all  this,  it  came  to  pass  one  morning  that 
summer  was  upon  them !  There  had  been  no 
spring-time,  rather  the  winter  had  been  one  long- 
continued,  balmy  spring,  with  no  hint  about  it 
that  other  things  were  to  be  expected,  until  this 
breathless  morning  announced  the  summer  as  at 
the  door. 

"We  must  go  home!"  said  Mrs.  Chrissy,  com 
ing  in  from  the  piazza.,  in  the  early  morning, 
because  the  sunshine  was  too  powerful  for  her. 
"The  time  has  really  come  to  say  it!  Last  sum 
mer—no,  last  spring,  when  was  it  that  we 


364  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

came?  —  I  was  skeptical  as  to  the  months  ever 
passing.  How  they  have  rushed  away  !  And  oh, 
Stuart,  how  many  interests  there  are  to  leave ! " 

Her  husband  laughed.  "  For  a  woman  who 
intended  to  fold  her  hands  and  wait,  they  have 
been  rather  full  hands,  I  think,"  he  said  cheer 
ily.  "But  see  here,  dear,  your  exclamation  about 
going  home,  comes  in  appropriately;  here  are 
business  letters  which  strongly  hint  the  same ; 
and  really  I  do  not  know  that  we  have  any  excuse 
for  lingering  much  longer.  I  can  not  plead  lack 
of  strength  ;  I  am  as  strong  as  I  ever  was ;  and  if 
you  read  these  letters  you  will  see  that  the  more 
we  hasten,  the  better  it  will  be  for  some  things." 

So  the  decision  came  suddenly,  with  almost  an 
unexpected  air  to  it;  as  to  people  who  were  so 
busy  with  their  work  by  the  way,  that  they  had 
forgotten  about  the  home-going. 

"  I  wonder  if  it  will  be  a  little  so,  perhaps, 
about  going  to  heaven?"  said  Mrs.  Chrissy,  stop 
ping  short  in  the  midst  of  her  preparations  to 
indulge  the  thought.  "We  shall  be  busy  in  our 
work,  His  work,  you  know,  glad  in  it,  absorbed  in 
it ;  as  if,  apparently  it  were  all  our  life ;  and  then, 
suddenly  hearing  His  call,  we  shall  make  haste 
to  put  it  into  the  hands  of  others,  and  go  joyfully 
home." 

"What  is  all  this  I  hear?"  Dr.  Portland  said, 
coming  in  upon  them  in  the  evening,  after  a  two 


SHE    LOSES    THEM EVERY    ONE.  365 

days'  absence.  "It  seems  to  me  it  is  a  remark 
able  proceeding  for  a  patient  of  mine !  Rather 
taking  matters  out  of  my  hands ! " 

"You  have  put  the  patient  out  of  your  hands," 
said  Mr.  Holmes;  "given  him  up,  you  know. 
After  a  doctor  has  done  that,  there  is  no  further 
need  for  deferring  to  him,  remember.  It  is  some 
what  sudden,"  he  explained  in  response  to  the 
doctor's  questionings,  "at  least  it  seems  so  to  us; 
we  had,  as  my  wife  was  just  saying,  absorbed  our 
selves  in  the  work  here  to  such  an  extent  that  we 
had  put  the  day  of  flitting  into  the  background; 
but  business  matters  with  which  I  now  feel 
entirely  able  to  grapple,  need  me,  so  we  are  mak 
ing  ready  in  earnest." 

"Everything  is  nicely  arranged,"  Mrs.  Holmes 
said,  making  haste  to  talk  about  the  comparatively 
commonplace ;  for  the  doctor's  grave,  moved  face, 
reminded  her  of  how  large  a  place  they  filled  in 
his  life,  and  how  sure  he  was  to  miss  them,  more 
than,  in  the  nature  of  things,  they  could  him. 
"We've  accomplished  a  great  deal  of  business  in 
these  two  days.  Mrs.  Carpenter  is  going  to  take 
charge  here,  and  all  the  boarders  have  promised 
to  stay ;  you  will,  won't  you  ?  It  is  all  as  com 
fortable  as  possible ;  Happy  is  glad  to  stay  and  be 
taught  the  'rightest  way  of  doing  everything,' 
she  says.  Mr.  Holmes  has  become  responsible  for 
the  house-rent,  and  Liph  is  glad  to  give  the  use 


366  HER   ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

of  the  furniture  for  his  board.  As  for  Joe,  or 
'Mr.  Carpenter,'  as  Mr.  Holmes  says  I  ought  to 
call  him,  I  think  he  will  grow  into  as  respectable 
a  head  of  the  house  as  any  boarders  need  desire. 
Isn't  it  pleasant  to  be  able  to  leave  everybody  so 
comfortably  settled?" 

"Very,"  said  the  doctor,  with  dignified  brevity. 
"Are  you  sure  it  is  quite  comfortable  for  every 
body  ?  What  about  your  other  friend,  in  whom  I 
supposed  you  were  somewhat  interested?" 

"Madeline?"  Mrs.  Holmes'  face  shadowed  a 
little  as  she  spoke  the  name.  "  I  confess  that  I 
am  not  quite  happy  over  her;  she  is  going  to 
remain  here  for  the  present ;  Mrs.  Carpenter  says 
she  shall  be  the  nominal  head ;  but  that  will  not 
do,  of  course ;  she  is  too  young  for  such  a  posi 
tion  ;  and  too"  She  did  not  finish  the  sen 
tence,  but  began  again  :  "  Still  it  was  the  best  we 
could  plan,  just  now.  She  will  be  exceedingly 
useful  here,  so  far  as  that  is  concerned ;  a 
womanly  girl,  who  knows  how  to  make  rooms 
homelike,  will  be  a  great  blessing  in  such  a 
house;  and  the  work  is  not  unpleasant.  But  to 
tell  you  the  truth,  I  think  Madeline  is  fitted  for 
something  different ;  we  hope  to  have  her  with 
us,  later,  when  we  can  plan  for  it,  though  we 
have  said  nothing  to  her,  of  course ;  our  plans  are 
too  indefinite.  You  do  not  think  a  Northern  cli 
mate  would  be  too  severe  for  her,  do  you,  doctor  ?  " 


SHE    LOSES    THEM EVERY    ONE.  367 

"Not  in  the  summer,"  he  said  significantly. 
"What,  in  the  meantime,  is  to  become  of  me? 
It  looks  very  much  as  though  every  one's  comfort 
was  being  thought  of  but  my  own.  Does  it 
occur  to  you  two  how  some  people  here  will  miss 
you  ? " 

"The  feeling  is  so  mutual,  doctor,"  said  Mr. 
Holmes,  "that  at  present  I  find  it  will  not  do  to 
talk  about  it.  We  do  not  by  any  means  forget 
what  we  owe  to  you." 

The  doctor  turned  abruptly  from  them.  "  I  am 
coming  North  to  visit  you,"  he  said;  "you  will 
see  me  before  the  summer  is  over.  By  the  way, 
where  is  Miss  Hurst  to-night  ?  " 

"  She  has  gone  to  her  brother's,"  Mrs.  Holmes 
explained.  "  She  thought  it  well  to  explain  to 
them  her  plans  for  the  immediate  future ;  we  are 
going  down  later  to  walk  back  with  her.  I  am 
somewhat  afraid  that  she  will  have  an  unpleasant 
time." 

That  was  putting  it  mildly,  as  Mrs.  Holmes 
would  have  realized,  if  she  could  have  been  at 
that  moment  in  Mrs.  Hurst's  dining-room.  Mad 
eline  sat  there  waiting  for  her  brother,  and 
undergoing  a  running  fire  of  questions  from  her 
sister-in-law.  That  good  woman,  far  from  fond  of 
Madeline  as  she  was,  had  yet  missed  her  more 
than  she  had  supposed  possible.  It  had  been  dis 
covered  that  the  girl  who  was  reported  to  have 


368  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

done  'almost  nothing  from  morning  until  night,' 
had  yet  accomplished  many  things  which  had 
been  for  the  comfort  of  the  family.  Not  the  least 
among  her  good  offices,  heretofore  unappreciated, 
had  been  the  willingness  with  which  she  stayed 
evening  after  evening  with  the  children,  leaving 
Mrs.  Hurst  free  to  spend  her  time  with  her 
chosen  friends.  Nancy's  unwillingness  to  do 
this,  had  emphasized  Madeline's  usefulness.  All 
things  considered,  Mrs.  Hurst  was  quite  willing 
to  have  her  sister-in-law  return  to  the  only  home 
she  had  ;  and  heard  with  satisfaction  of  the  con 
templated  departure  of  the  Northern  party. 

"Mad  won't  be  such  a  fool  as  to  stay  on  there 
after  they  are  gone,"  she  explained  to  her  hus 
band.  "  She  may  be  willing  to  be  a  servant  to  the 
Holmes  woman  ;  she  is  so  smitten  with  her  that 
she  can't  keep  away  from  her,  but  the  Carpenter 
woman  is  another  thing." 

This  conclusion  helped  to  make  explanations 
very  hard  for  Madeline.  "Going  back  there!" 
demanded  the  annoyed  lady  in  her  loudest  key; 
"what  for,  for  pity's  sake?  You  ain't  hired  out 
as  a  common  servant,  I  should  hope ;  though  that 
is  what  you  have  had  the  name  of  being  this  long 
time.  Dr.  Longman  asked  me  only  the  other  day 
how  long  you  were  to  be  employed  there !  I 
thought  I  should  sink  through  the  floor!  What 
do  you  mean  ?  Going  back  for  what  ? " 


SHE    LOSES    THEM  —  EVERY    ONE.  369 

"  For  a  great  many  things  that  there  are  to  do," 
Madeline  said,  with  a  weary  sigh;  she  felt  just 
then  with  unusual  force  the  truth  that  everything 
would  be  very  different  when  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Holmes  were  gone ;  she  hardly  knew  what  there 
would  be  to  do.  Up  to  this  time,  curiously 
enough,  Mrs.  Holmes  had  been  the  real  head  of 
the  house,  at  least,  so  far  as  her  duties  were 
concerned. 

"Things!"  repeated  Mrs.  Hurst  in  indignation; 
"if  you  are  so  dreadfully  anxious  to  do  things, 
I  am  sure  there's  enough  to  do  in  this  house, 
without  going  among  strangers,  or  worse  than 
strangers,  to  find  them.  Mad  Hurst,  do  you  mean 
to  sit  there  and  tell  me  that  you  have  decided  to 
disgrace  your  brother's  family  out  and  out,  by 
going  out  to  service  to  that  Carpenter  woman  ? " 

Nancy's  frowzled  head  was  now  thrust  in  at  the 
door.  "Dr.  Portland  is  in  the  parlor,"  she 
announced ;  "  he  says  he  would  like  to  see  '  Miss 
Madeline,'  "  and  Nancy  showed  all  her  not  very 
carefully  kept  teeth,  as  though  she  had  heard 
something  which  amused  her. 

"Oh,  indeed!  Miss  Madeline!  Hasn't  he 
got  done  making  a  cat's-paw  of  you  yet  ?  If  you 
knew  all  the  talk  there  is  about  him  and  your 
dear  Mrs.  Holmes,  you  wouldn't  be  so  proud  of 
the  notice  of  either  of  them.  At  least  you  can 
answer  a  civil  question  before  you  run  to  him, 


37O  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

can't  you  ?  What  are  you  planning  to  do  over 
there  ? " 

"I  will  explain  later,"  said  Madeline,  and  went 
to  the  parlor.  Dr.  Portland  came  forward  to 
meet  her.  "Miss  Madeline,"  he  said,  "I  have 
been  home  and  heard  that  which  has  taken  my 
breath  away.  What  are  you  and  I  going  to  do 
without  our  friends  ? " 

"I  do  not  know,"  she  said,  her  lip  quivering. 
"Oh,  do  not  ask  me,"  she  added,  struggling  to 
retain  self-control.  "  I  do  not  know  what  I  am  to 
do.  It  almost  seems  as  though  I  could  not  have 
them  go." 

"I  will  tell  you,"  he  said,  speaking  with  infinite 
gravity,  "  what  we  must  both  do ;  we  must  take 
care  of  each  other.  I  need  your  help  now.  Do 
you  remember  you  asked  me  once  for  mine  ?  You 
said  you  felt  like  a  soldier  who  had  deserted,  and 
you  wanted  to  find  out  how  to  re-enlist.  You  did 
not  know  that  you  precisely  described  my  expe 
rience.  I  called  myself  a  soldier,  once,  in  this 
same  army ;  and  because  I  discovered  that  some 
in  the  rank  and  file  were  traitors,  and  others  weak 
lings,  doing  positive  harm  by  their  half-hearted- 
ness,  I  was  such  a  consummate  idiot  as  to  desert 
the  Captain  altogether.  I  made  it  my  excuse 
that  certain  of  his  soldiers  had  injured  me;  as  if 
that  were  a  reason  for  my  turning  traitor !  I  have 
lived  to  see  the  folly  of  it.  Certain  people  whom 


SHE    LOSES    THEM EVERY    ONE. 

I  have  watched,  this  winter,  have  taught  me  that 
a  wholesale  sneer  at  the  army  because  some  of  the 
enlisted  were  failures,  was  neither  honor  nor  com 
mon-sense.  In  plain  English,  Madeline,  I  want 
to  come  back  and  serve  the  Lord,  and  I  want  you 
to  help  me." 

Her  face  was  radiant  with  joy  and  surprise. 
"I  am  so  glad,"  she  said  eagerly,  "and  so  glad 
you  think  I  can  help  you.  Be  sure  that  I  will, 
in  every  possible  way.  But  you  do  not  need  my 
help ;  you  are  so  clear-minded,  so  resolute,  so 
strong." 

"There  was  never  a  greater  mistake,"  he  said 
in  utmost  gravity,  "and  you  do  not  understand 
what  you  are  promising ;  I  feel  that  I  shall  need 
your  help  every  hour  of  every  day,  on  through 
the  years.  Are  you  willing  to  undertake  it,  Mad 
eline  ?  Willing  to  come  to  me,  I  mean,  and  be 
to  me  all  that  that  kind  of  helping  implies  ? " 

"I  do  not  understand,"  she  said  hurriedly;  "I 
will  do  any  thing  I  can  to  help  you,  Dr.  Portland, 
always." 

"  Yes,  but  can  you  do  this  which  I  need,  which 

I  ask?" 

****** 

It  was  perhaps  a  half -hour  afterward,  that  the 
inevitable  Nancy  unceremoniously  opened  the 
parlor  door  and  said ,  "  They  want  Dr.  Portland 
over  at  Simmonses  right  straight  off." 


3/2  HER    ASSOCIATE    MEMBERS. 

"I  will  return  if  I  can,"  said  the  doctor,  rising, 
"but  in  the  meantime,  if  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holmes 
reach  here  before  I  do,  do  not  wait  for  me,  I  will 
see  you  at  the  house.  You  want  to  go  back 
there  to-night,  do  you  not  ?  " 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Madeline;  "I  told  Mrs.  Holmes 
that  I  would.  But  I  also  promised  Mrs.  Hurst 
that  I  would  tell  her  this  evening  what  arrange 
ments  I  had  made  for  the  summer." 

"Keep  your  promise  by  all  means,"  he  said 
with  a  curious  smile ;  "  I  would  not  have  Mrs. 
Hurst  kept  in  suspense  a  moment  longer  than  is 
necessary." 

"Well!"  said  that  lady  as  Madeline  at  last 
appeared  in  the  dining-room,  which  was  also  the 
family  sitting-room,  "has  he  really  gone?  Half 
the  town  might  die  while  he  was  carrying  on  his 
flirtations ;  such  a  doctor  as  that !  What  in  the 
world  does  he  want  of  you  ?  Is  he  arranging  an 
elopement  with  that  charming  Holmes  woman, 
and  asking  you  to  help?  I  believe  you  are  that 
bewitched  with  the  tribe  that  you  would  take 
hold  of  it.  What  is  he  after  ? " 

"He  was  after  me,"  said  Madeline  with  a  curi 
ous  light  in  her  eyes,  and  a  lovely  flush  on  her 
face. 

"Well,  I  heard  that  much,  of  course.  I  am 
asking  you  what  he  wants." 

"He  wants  me  to  help  him," 


SHE  LOSES  THEM EVERY  ONE.      373 

Mrs.  Hurst  laid  down  the  small  dress  she  was 
mending,  and  gave  undivided  attention  to  her 
sister-in-law.  "Mad  Hurst,"  she  said,  "is  that 
doctor  such  a  fool  as  to  want  a  young  thing  like 
you  to  go  out  taking  care  of  his  patients  ? " 

"Oh,  no!"  said  Madeline,  with  a  hysterical 
little  laugh ;  "he  wants  me  to  take  care  of  him. 
He  has  asked  me  to  be  his  wife." 

The  scissors  dropped  on  the  floor  with  a  reso 
nant  clang;  the  spool  rolled  unheeded  under  the 
stove  and  Mrs.  Hurst  sat  and  stared. 

"Dr.  Portland !"  she  ejaculated  at  last,  "wants 
you!  Well,  I  am  beat!" 


THE    END. 


